"The Iraqi government claimed victory over Islamic State insurgents in Tikrit on Wednesday after a month-long battle for the city supported by Shi'ite militiamen and U.S.-led air strikes, saying that only small pockets of resistance remained.
State television showed Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, accompanied by leaders of the army and police, the provincial governor and Shi'ite paramilitary leaders, parading through Tikrit and raising an Iraqi flag.
The militants captured the city, about 140 km (90 miles) north of Baghdad, last June as they swept through most of Iraq's Sunni Muslim territories, swatting aside a demoralized and disorganized army that has now required an uneasy combination of Iranian and American support to get back on its feet."
"The government declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday over extremists of the Islamic State group, and it warned the militants holding other Iraqi provinces that they would be the next to fall.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walked triumphantly along a street in Tikrit, carrying an Iraqi flag and surrounded by jubilant forces.
Across the border in Syria, however, Islamic State fighters made their deepest foray yet into the capital of Damascus by infiltrating a Palestinian refugee camp, according to opposition activists and Palestinian officials.
Iraq's victory over the extremists in Tikrit was seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province."
"In Iraq's Tikrit, liberation from the Islamic State group comes at a heavy price, both in loss of life and in the sheer devastation the militants leave in their wake.
Much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and once a bustling city north of Baghdad, now lies in ruins.
Islamic State extremists captured it during a blitz last June that also seized large chunks of northern and western Iraq, along with a huge swath of land in neighboring Syria.
After a nearly 10-month Islamic State occupation, it took Iraqi forces and their allies, including Iranian-backed Shiite militias, a month of ferocious street battles to win the city back. They declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday, and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes also helped turn the tide in the final weeks of the battle."
---Associated Press, April 4, 2015
Christians in Kenya Targeted in Slaughter Carried out by Jihadist Group Al-Shabaab
April 2, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Kenyan military personnel near the scene of the Al-Shabaab jihadist attack on Garissa University College, Thursday, April 2, 2015; AP photo of a victim (airlifted to Nairobi, Kenya) of the Al-Shabaab attack at Garissa University College, Thursday, April 2, 2015
Above: Wikipedia map of Kenya; Wikipedia map of Africa with the nation of Kenya highlighted
Al-Shabab gunmen stormed a university in northeastern Kenya at dawn Thursday, killing more than 70 people in the group's bloodiest attack in the East African country, officials said. Four of the gunmen were killed by security forces.
"In the attack, which turned into a hostage siege that continued into the evening at Garissa University College, masked militants separated Christian students from Muslims, and then gunned them down without mercy, survivors said. Others ran for their lives with bullets whistling through the air, and hundreds of students remained unaccounted for more than 11 hours after the bloodshed began.
At least 79 people were wounded at the school 145 kilometers (90 miles) from the Somali border by the al-Qaida linked group, said Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery, who gave the death toll of more than 70. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was ordered in Garissa and three nearby counties.
Kenyan security forces cornered the gunmen in a dormitory, and President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a speech to the nation that the attackers were holding hostages.
Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for al-Shabab, said fighters from the Somalia-based extremist group were responsible. The al-Qaida-linked group has been blamed for a series of attacks, including the siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 that killed 67 people, as well as other violence in northern Kenya."
"The death toll in an assault by Somali militants on a Kenyan university is likely to climb above 147, a government source and media said on Friday, as anger grew among local residents over what they say was a government failure to prevent bloodshed.
Strapped with explosives, masked al Shabaab gunmen stormed the Garissa University College campus, some 200 km (120 miles) from the Somali border, in a pre-dawn rampage on Thursday.
Tossing grenades and spraying bullets at cowering students, the attackers initially killed indiscriminately. But they later freed some Muslims and instead targeted Christian students during a siege that lasted about 15 hours.
Anger over the massacre was compounded by the fact there were warnings last week that an attack on a university was imminent. Local residents accused the authorities of doing little to boost security in this little-developed region."
"An Islamic reformation would be painful, surely internally violent — as reformation’s various phases were in Christianity. It would mean the sharp diminution of the power of the Imams; frontal challenges to the moral framework of millions, and to the power of religiously based dynasties, like the House of Saud. But if reform, and opening a space for free, unafraid debate, is to move from the fringes to the center and allow the majority to encompass both secular citizenship and devout practice, this hard transition is necessary — especially for Muslims themselves, the first and most numerous victims of extremism."
---John Lloyd, Reuters, April 2, 2015
Tentative Deal Reached Between Iran and World Powers Regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program
April 2, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of European Union Representative Federica Mogherini; Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif; British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond; United States Secretary of State John Kerry in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, April 2, 2015; U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
Above: AP photo of President Barack Obama walking to the Rose Garden at the White House, Thursday, April 2, 2015; AP photo of President Barack Obama issuing a statement regarding Iran, Rose Garden, White House, Thursday, April 2, 2015
Above: Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif; President of Iran Hassan Rouhani; Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
Above: Associated Press map of Iran regarding its assets pertaining to its nuclear program, April 2015
Above: Reuters graphic regarding Iran's ability to enrich uranium
Above: Reuters graphic regarding Iran's nuclear program
"Capping exhausting and contentious talks, Iran and world powers sealed a breakthrough agreement Thursday outlining limits on Iran's nuclear program to keep it from being able to produce atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic was promised an end to years of crippling economic sanctions, but only if negotiators transform the plan into a comprehensive pact.
They will try to do that in the next three months."
"Iran and the world powers said here Thursday that they had reached a surprisingly specific and comprehensive general understanding about the next steps in limiting Tehran’s nuclear program, though Western officials said many details needed to be resolved before a final agreement in June.
There was no mistaking the upbeat mood surrounding the announcement, following eight days of intense debate between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. 'We have stopped a cycle that is not in the interest of anybody,' an exuberant Mr. Zarif said at a news conference after the announcement."
"Iran and world powers reached a framework agreement on Thursday on curbing Iran's nuclear program for at least a decade, a step toward a comprehensive accord that could end 12 years of brinkmanship, threats and confrontation.
The tentative agreement, after eight days of marathon talks in Switzerland, clears the way for talks on the future settlement that should allay Western fears that Iran was seeking to build an atomic bomb and in return lift economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The framework is contingent on reaching an agreement by June 30 and all sanctions on Iran remain in place until a final deal is reached."
"After securing a surprisingly broad and detailed framework for a nuclear agreement with Iran, President Barack Obama must now subject his signature foreign policy pursuit to the gauntlet of partisan American politics.
A blueprint finalized Thursday after marathon negotiations in Switzerland did little to ease the standoff between Obama and some lawmakers over Congress' role in a final accord. The president has vowed to veto legislation giving Congress the ability to approve or reject a deal, and he made a fresh appeal for lawmakers to give the U.S. and its international partners space to hammer out a comprehensive agreement ahead of a June 30 deadline.
'The issues at stake here are bigger than politics,' Obama said. 'These are matters of war and peace.'
But Republican leaders reaffirmed their intent to vote on legislation giving Congress the last word. Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the panel will vote on such a measure when lawmakers return from a spring recess on April 14.
'The administration first should seek the input of the American people,' Corker said.
Some Democrats have backed Corker's quest for a congressional vote on an Iran deal, raising the possibility that lawmakers could override a presidential veto."
"The G.O.P. did everything that it could to scuttle this deal. Forty-seven Republican senators sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader that will go down in the annals of diplomatic sabotage, and made it harder for American negotiators to demand a deal that the White House itself would find acceptable. They did so even though their ostensible goal—keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear power—was the same as the President’s. It would have been easy, on Tuesday, when the original deadline for the talks expired, for the American negotiators to walk away—and for Obama to blame it all on the Republicans and just say that they had made it too difficult to reach an agreement. He’s done that in the past. (Guantánamo.) But the President told John Kerry—whose efforts he referred to in his statement on Thursday as 'tireless, and I mean tireless'—to keep going, and Kerry and his fellow diplomats seem to have come up with something that, while not perfect, does look pretty good."
"Right now, a thousand pundits and politicians are debating the details of Thursday’s framework nuclear deal with Iran. That’s fine. I think the details are far, far better than the alternative—which was a collapse of the diplomatic process, a collapse of international sanctions as Russia and China went back to business as usual with Tehran, and a collapse of the world’s ability to send inspectors into Iran. But ultimately, the details aren’t what matters. What matters is the potential end of America’s 36-year-long cold war with Iran.
For the United States, ending that cold war could bring three enormous benefits. First, it could reduce American dependence on Saudi Arabia. Before the fall of the shah in 1979, the United States had good relations with both Tehran and Riyadh, which meant America wasn’t overly reliant on either. Since the Islamic Revolution, however, Saudi Arabia has been America’s primary oil-producing ally in the Persian Gulf. After 9/11, when 19 hijackers—15 of them Saudis—destroyed the Twin Towers, many Americans realized the perils of so great a dependence on a country that was exporting so much pathology. One of the unstated goals of the Iraq War was to give the United States a large, stable, oil-producing ally as a hedge against the uncertain future of the House of Saud.
What George W. Bush failed to achieve militarily, Barack Obama may now be achieving diplomatically."
"On the day he took office, President Obama reached out to America’s enemies, offering in his first inaugural address to 'extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.' More than six years later, he has arrived at a moment of truth in testing that proposition with one of the nation’s most intransigent adversaries.
The framework nuclear agreement he reached with Iran on Thursday did not provide the definitive answer to whether Mr. Obama’s audacious gamble will pay off. The fist Iran has shaken at the so-called Great Satan since 1979 has not completely relaxed. But the fingers are loosening, and the agreement, while still incomplete, held out the prospect that it might yet become a handshake."
---Peter Baker, The New York Times, April 2, 2015
U.S. Monthly Jobs Report: Tepid Jobs Creation at 126,000 for March 2015
April 3, 2015 (Friday)
Above: CNN chart showing U.S. monthly jobs creation from March 2014 through March 2015
A White South Carolina Policeman Fatally Shoots a Fleeing African-American Man
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photos (via video made by a witness) showing North Charleston Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager with raised gun as Walter Scott flees
Above: AP photos (via video made by a witness) showing Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager over wounded or dead Walter Scott
Above: North Charleston, South Carolina Policeman Michael Thomas Slager
"The three-minute clip of Saturday morning’s shooting starts shaky, but it steadies as Slager and Scott appear to be grabbing at each other’s hands.
Slager has said through his attorney that Scott had wrested his Taser from him during a struggle.
The video appears to show Scott slapping at the officer’s hands as several objects fall to the ground. It’s not clear what the objects are.
Scott starts running away. Wires from Slager’s Taser stretch from Scott’s clothing to the officer’s hands.
With Scott more than 10 feet from Slager, the officer draws his pistol and fires seven times in rapid succession. After a brief pause, the officer fires one last time. Scott’s back bows, and he falls face first to the ground near a tree.
After the gunfire, Slager glances at the person taking the video, then talks into his radio."
"The deadly confrontation reportedly began about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Slager claimed he pulled over Scott for a broken taillight and opened fire after Walter Scott took his Taser. He said he feared for his life during a struggle with the 50-year-old Scott.
Scott is seen in the video sprinting from the officer and appears to clear at least 15 feet before Slager fires the first of eight shots. Dressed in a green shirt and jeans, Scott stumbled and then crumpled face first into the grass."
"The shooting began with a routine traffic stop after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. After Slager stopped a vehicle, he began chasing Walter Scott, 50, and fired his Taser, according to the incident report and city officials.
Footage of the shooting, first obtained by the New York Times and the Post and Courier newspaper, showed Scott fleeing from Slager across a tree-lined patch of grass. Slager fires a series of shots at Scott, who appears to be unarmed, striking Scott 'multiple times in the back,' according to an affidavit filed Tuesday evening."
---Washington Post, April 7, 2015
Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke Defeats Michigan State, 81 to 61
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Duke battling Michigan State in a Final Four contest in Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, April 4, 2015
"Justise Winslow scored 19 points, fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor added 18, and senior Quinn Cook had 17 to lead top-seeded Duke to an 81-61 victory over Michigan State on Saturday and into yet another title game in the city known for a 500-mile auto race."
---ESPN, April 4, 2015
Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Wisconsin Knocks Off Heretofore Undefeated Kentucky
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Wisconsin battling Kentucky in Final Four Action, Saturday, April 4, 2015
"Nobody ever said they were perfect. Now, the Kentucky Wildcats aren't undefeated, either.
The hard-nosed Wisconsin Badgers did what nobody else could this season -- knocking off the Wildcats 71-64 on Saturday night behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Frank Kaminsky and a clutch comeback down the stretch.
Now, instead of Kentucky going for history, it's Wisconsin heading to the final to play Duke, an 81-61 winner over Michigan State in the earlier -- and much less entertaining -- semifinal."
---ESPN, April 4, 2015
Pope Francis Voices Support for the Lausanne Framework Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program
April 5, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photos ofPope Francis during the occasion of the Ubi et Urbi message at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015
"In an Easter peace wish, Pope Francis on Sunday praised the framework nuclear agreement with Iran as an opportunity to make the world safer, while expressing deep worry about bloodshed in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.
Cautious hope ran through Francis' 'Urbi et Orbi' Easter message, a kind of papal commentary on the state of the world's affairs, which he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square.
He had just celebrated Mass in rain-whipped St. Peter's Square for tens of thousands of people, who huddled under umbrellas or braved the downpour in thin, plastic rain-slickers.
Easter day is 'so beautiful, and so ugly because of the rain,' Francis said after Mass about Christianity's most important feast day. He expressed thanks for the flowers which bedecked the square and which were donated by the Netherlands, but the bright hues of the azaleas and other blossoms seemed muted by the gray skies.
Francis made his first public comments about the recent framework for an accord, reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, and aimed at ensuring Iran doesn't develop a nuclear weapon."
---Associated Press, April 5, 2015
First Game of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: The St. Louis Cardinals Defeat the Chicago Cubs, 3 to 0
April 5, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of season-opening action between the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Sunday, April 5, 2015--a game won by the Cardinals, 3 to 0
"In seven hours Mad Men will end its run as one of most acclaimed shows in American television history, perhaps the single series most emblematic of the Golden Age of Television as we’ve come to call it. Airing on AMC instead of a major network, Mad Men has been able to deal with the realities of Postwar America in a way that more heavily censored, commercially-oriented shows haven’t. The show is just plain big, sprawling and ambitious in a way that fits its focus, America.
As far as I’m concerned, you can have The Sopranos and Breaking Bad (the other two members of the Golden Age Triumvirate). In terms of scope—of addressing the past, present, and future not just of America but of humanity—Mad Men has no equal. Rather than the titillation of mobsters and meth labs, Mad Men is held together by quiet heartbreaks and small, painful victories, the dialogue of its writers and the acting chops of a stellar cast led by John Hamm as Don Draper.
In Mad Men’s leading man, Hamm and Writer/Creator Matt Weiner have constructed a character at once overblown and understated, symbolic and deeply realistic, a man who lies with the ease of a born grifter but sometimes gives us truths profound enough to still all other thought, realizations spoken with the philosophical depth and unflinching clarity of the tired God of some doomed universe. A God who in spite of all he knows still carries a few measures of hope."
---Kurt Baumeister, Salon, April 5, 2015
The Opening of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season
April 6, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers during the season-opening game versus the Minnesota Twins, Monday, April 6, 2015; AP photo of Cincinnati Reds pitcher during season-opening game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, Monday, April 6, 2015
"Call them freshmen. Please, do not call them kids.
Led by Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, Duke's talented group of youngsters played like salty old pros down the stretch, outscoring Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes Monday night to grit out a 68-63 victory for the program's fifth national title."
---ESPN, April 6, 2015
U.S. Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, Declares his Presidential Candidacy
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Senator Rand Paul and wife during his presidential candidacy announcement, Tuesday, April 7, 2015
"U.S. Senator Rand Paul accused his fellow Republicans on Tuesday of contributing to Washington's dysfunction, launching a 2016 White House bid with a vow to shatter the status quo and defend individual freedoms.
The first-term senator from Kentucky, a libertarian with a reputation for challenging party orthodoxy, criticized both Republicans and Democrats for helping to drive up the federal debt and reduce personal liberties.
He cast himself as an anti-establishment reformer who could break partisan gridlock and win new converts to the party, saying his fellow Republicans fall prey to the allure of special interests in Washington."
---Reuters, April 7, 2015
North Charleston, South Carolina Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager Charged with Murdering Walter L. Scott
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: North Charleston police officer Michael Thomas Slager who was charged with the murder of Walter L. Scott
Above: AP photos (via video footage shot by witness) of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager pointing a pistol at Walter L. Scott, August 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager near Walter L. Scott, the man that Slager had shot moments before, August 4, 2015
"A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.
The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening."
---New York Times, April 7, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Atlanta Braves Beat the Miami Marlins, 12 to 2
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of an Atlanta Braves pitcher in action versus the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 7, 2015; AP photo of a Miami Marlins pitcher in action versus the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, April 7, 2015
"Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won re-election on Tuesday against challenger Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia in a hard-fought race to lead a city on the brink of financial crisis and plagued by violent crime.
Emanuel, 55, who has spent millions of dollars on television and radio ads in his bid for re-election, was leading by about 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Garcia with 86 percent of precincts reporting, according to the city's Board of Election Commissioners. Turnout was 44 percent.
Over a six-week-long non-partisan race, the battle between Democrats Emanuel and Garcia became a symbol for a national divide between the party's moderates and the less well-funded progressive wing.
Once an aide to former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Emanuel finished first among five candidates in February, but did not get the 50 percent of the vote needed to win the nonpartisan election outright. Garcia, 58, a Cook County commissioner and a former state senator and alderman, finished second."
---Reuters, April 7, 2015
U.S. Soldier Slain by Afghan Soldier in Jalalabad, Afghanistan
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Wikipedia map of Afghanistan;AP photo of Afghan officials at the site in Jalalabad, Afghanistan where an American soldier was killed by an Afghan soldier, Wednesday, April 8, 2015
"An Afghan soldier opened fire at a group of U.S. troops in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing an American soldier and wounding at least two others before he was shot dead, a U.S. official said.
The incident happened after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. Embassy official in the compound of the provincial governor in Jalalabad. All U.S. Embassy staff were accounted for and returned safely to their mission headquarters, the embassy said.
It was the latest in so-called 'insider attacks' — instances in which Afghan soldiers or policemen have turned their weapons on their fellow American or other NATO colleagues.
The attack was also the second fatality suffered by NATO since the beginning of the year, when the coalition launched its new mission in Afghanistan called Resolute Support after foreign combat troops withdrew from the country.
The last previous incident in which an American soldier was killed in Afghanistan was on Dec. 13, when a roadside bombing killed two U.S. troops in Parwan province. Also, an Afghan soldier killed three American contractors on January 29. The shooter was also killed in that incident."
---Associated Press, April 8, 2015
Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager Fired From North Charleston, S.C. Police Department
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: North Charleston Police Department (source: AP) photo of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager, the police officer who shot and killed Walter L. Scott, an African-American, on April 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of protesters in front of the North Charleston, South Carolina City Hall, April 8, 2015
Above: AP photo of a protester in North Charleston, South Carolina holding a sign declaring, "I am a man," April 8, 2015; AP photo of a protester's sign in North Charleston, South Carolina, a sign with the message, "The whole world is watching," April 8, 2015
"A white South Carolina police officer who claimed he killed an unarmed black man in self-defense has been fired, the city's mayor announced Wednesday, a day after the release of a video showing the officer firing eight shots at the fleeing man's back.
The mayor also announced that he had ordered body cameras to be worn by every single officer on the force in North Charleston.
Protests began within hours of the murder charge against Michael Thomas Slager.
'I have watched the video. And I was sickened by what I saw. And I have not watched it since,' Police Chief Eddie Driggers said. He was interrupted by chants of 'no justice, no peace' and other shouted questions that he and the mayor said they could not answer.
The town will continue to pay for Slager's health insurance because his wife is eight months pregnant, said Mayor Keith Summey, who called the incident a tragedy for two families.
About 75 people gathered outside City Hall, led by a Black Lives Matter, a group formed after the fatal shooting of another black man in Ferguson, Missouri.
'Eight shots in the back!' local organizer Muhiydin D'Baha shouted through a bullhorn. The crowd yelled 'In the back!' in response.
The video recorded by an unidentified bystander shows North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager dropping his Taser, pulling out his Glock pistol and firing at Walter Lamer Scott from a distance as he runs away. The 50-year-old man falls after the eighth shot."
"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on all charges Wednesday in the Boston Marathon bombing by a federal jury that now must decide whether the 21-year-old former college student should be executed.
Tsarnaev folded his arms, fidgeted and looked down at the defense table as he listened to one guilty verdict after another on all 30 counts against him, including conspiracy and deadly use of a weapon of mass destruction. Seventeen of those counts are punishable by death.
The verdict — reached after a day and a half of deliberations — was practically a foregone conclusion, given his lawyer's startling admission at the trial's outset that Tsarnaev carried out the terror attack with his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan.
The two shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that exploded near the finish line on April 15, 2013, killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 other people, turning the traditionally celebratory home stretch of the world-famous race into a scene of carnage and putting the city on edge for days.
Tsarnaev was found responsible not only for those deaths but for the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was gunned down days later."
---Associated Press, April 8, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Shuts Out Minnesota
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers, a game won by Detroit 11 to 0 on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Legacy of the American Civil War: The 150th Anniversary of Robert E. Lee's Surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox
April 9, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Painting depicting Confederate General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendering on April 9, 1865 to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the U.S. Army of the Potomac
"Islamic State militants attacked the capital of Iraq's vast Anbar province on multiple fronts on Friday, seizing two areas on the city outskirts in a setback for a government campaign to retake the desert terrain.
The jihadists deployed vehicle and suicide bombs to tear through Iraqi government lines north of the city of Ramadi overnight before attacking on foot, said security officials and a hospital source.
The head of Anbar's provincial council, Sabah Karhout, called on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send urgent military reinforcements and supplies to fighters, saying they were running low on ammunition.
Abadi visited Anbar on Tuesday and declared the start of the operation to liberate the Sunni Muslim heartland, seeking to build on a victory over Islamic State last week in the city of Tikrit.
But a police source in Ramadi said early on Friday the insurgents had taken half of the Albu Faraj area, and provincial council member Athal al-Fahdawi later said it had been overrun completely.
Hundreds of families were fleeing Albu Faraj, just north of Ramadi, after Islamic State militants broke into the homes of policemen and soldiers in the area and killed 15 members of their families.
A car bomb blew up the bridge linking Ramadi and Albu Faraj across the Euphrates river, a police source said."
---Reuters, April 10, 2015
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Closes Above 18,000
April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 18,057 on April 10, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Red Sox Triumph Over Yankees in 19 Innings
April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Above: AP photo of a Red Sox player in action against the New York Yankees, Friday, April 10, 2015---a game that ultimately went 19 innings in which the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees, 6 to 5
U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro Meet in Panama
April 11, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015
Above: AP photo of Cuban President Raul Castro shaking hands with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, April 11, 2015
"President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro sat down together Saturday in the first formal meeting of the two country's leaders in a half-century, pledging to reach for the kind of peaceful relationship that has eluded their nations for generations.
In a small conference room in a Panama City convention center, the two sat side by side in a bid to inject fresh momentum into their months-old effort to restore diplomatic ties. Reflecting on the historic nature of the meeting, Obama said he felt it was time to try something new and to engage with both Cuba's government and its people."
"President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba met here Saturday in the first face-to-face discussion between the leaders of the two countries in a half-century.
Seated beside Mr. Castro in a small room in the convention center downtown where the Summit of the Americas was being held, Mr. Obama called it a 'historic meeting.'"
---New York Times, April 11, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Red Sox Beat the Yankees, 8 to 4
April 11, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photos of Major League Baseball action between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, a game in Yankee Stadium in which the Red Sox prevailed, 8 to 4
70th Anniversary of the Death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: The unfinished portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Announces her Candidacy for President of the United States
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo (via online video) of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing her candidacy for President of the United States of America, Sunday, April 12, 2015
"Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped back into presidential politics on Sunday, making a much-awaited announcement she will again seek the White House with a promise to serve as the 'champion' of everyday Americans.
Clinton opened her bid for the 2016 Democratic nomination by positioning herself as the heir to the diverse coalition of voters who elected her immediate predecessor and former campaign rival, President Barack Obama, as well as an appeal to those in her party still leery of her commitment to fighting income inequality.
And unlike eight years ago, when she ran as a candidate with a deep resume in Washington, Clinton and her personal history weren't the focus of the first message of her campaign. In the online video that kicked off her campaign, she made no mention of her time in the Senate and four years as secretary of state, or the prospect she could make history as the nation's first female president."
"Hillary Clinton cast herself as a champion for everyday Americans on Sunday, kicking off her long-awaited second run for the White House with a vow to fight for a level playing field for those recovering from tough economic times.
Clinton, who begins the 2016 presidential race as the commanding Democratic front runner, entered the fray with a flurry of video, email and social media announcements that indicated she had absorbed some of the lessons of her painful 2008 loss and would not take anything for granted this time.
When she lost the Democratic nominating battle to Barack Obama, her campaign was heavily criticized for conveying a sense of arrogance and entitlement, and for being out of touch with the party's progressive wing.
This time, the video launching her campaign portrayed her as a warmer, more empathetic figure and laid the groundwork for a more populist economic agenda."
---Reuters, April 12, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Detroit Tigers Defeated the Cleveland Indians
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians---a game in which Detroit prevailed on the road, 8 to 5
"Sen. Marco Rubio entered the presidential race Monday by offering the nation a younger generation of leadership that breaks free of ideas 'stuck in the 20th century,' a jab at both Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton and his one-time Republican mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Standing in front of a banner that proclaimed 'A New American Century' and repeating that refrain throughout his kickoff speech, the 43-year-old Cuban-American used his first turn as a Republican presidential candidate to take on two of America's political dynasties. In doing so, he bet heavily on the electorate's frustrations with Washington and his ability to change how his party is seen by voters.
'This election is not just about what laws we are going to pass,' Rubio told his evening rally. 'It is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.'
He said it's also a choice between the haves and have-nots, nodding to his own upbringing by working-class parents. 'I live an exceptional country where the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.'
Earlier in the day, the first-term Republican from Florida spoke to his top donors and told them many families feel the American Dream is slipping away and young Americans face unequal opportunities. He's banking on the hope that he, alone among many GOP rivals, can make inroads with groups that have long eluded Republicans — young people, minorities and the less affluent."
---Associated Press, April 13, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Milwaukee Brewers Defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 5 to 4
April 13, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the visiting Milwaukee Brewers versus the home team St. Louis Cardinals, a game won by the Brewers, 5 to 4, Monday, April 13, 2015
"The White House announced on Tuesday that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the American government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism, eliminating a major obstacle to the restoration of diplomatic relations after decades of hostilities.
The decision to remove Cuba from the list represents a crucial step in Mr. Obama’s effort to turn the page on a Cold War-era dispute.
It came after a much-anticipated meeting between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas meeting in Panama over the weekend, the first such formal session between the leaders of the two countries in more than a half-century.
For more than 30 years, Cuba has been on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation shared only by Iran, Sudan and Syria."
---New York Times, April 14, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Cincinnati Reds Defeated the Chicago Cubs, 3 to 2
April 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, April 14, 2015
"The Islamic State group launched an offensive in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, capturing three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi and forcing villagers to flee from their homes as fierce clashes were underway between the extremists and government troops, residents said.
The militants' push comes after the Islamic State was dealt a major blow earlier this month, when Iraqi troops routed the group from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. Wednesday's fighting could also further threaten Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. The city is mostly held by government forces but militants control some parts of it, mainly on the outskirts.
In a dawn advance, IS extremists seized the villages of Sjariyah, Albu-Ghanim and Soufiya, which had also been under government control till now, the residents said. Fighting was also taking place on the eastern edges of Ramadi, about two kilometers (mile) away from local government building, they added.
In Soufiya, the militants bombed a police station and took over a power plant. The residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for their own safety, said airstrikes were trying to back up Iraqi troops. Iraqi security officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Around noon Wednesday, the militants opened another front with the government troops on three other villages, to the northeast of Ramadi, the residents also said.
An Iraqi intelligence official said the militants were preparing to launch another offensive from the western side of the city, describing the situation as 'critical.'"
"Islamic State militants gained ground in western Iraq on Wednesday, overrunning another village near the capital of Anbar province in a dawn raid, police sources and local officials said.
Hundreds of families were fleeing Albu Ghanim after security forces came under attack from the militants overnight and withdrew from the area, around 5 km (3 miles) northeast of the provincial capital Ramadi.
The militants have been making inroads on Ramadi's northern periphery since the government announced the start of a new offensive last week to recapture the Sunni heartland of Anbar.
Large parts of the province had slipped from the government's grasp even before Islamic State seized the northern city of Mosul last June and proclaimed a caliphate straddling the border between Iraq and Syria.
Security forces and Shi'ite paramilitaries have since regained some ground in Iraq, although core Sunni territories remain under Islamic State control, including Nineveh province, of which Mosul is capital, and most of Anbar."
---Reuters, April 15, 2015
New England Patriots Football Player Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty of First Degree Murder
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: AP photo of former NFL football player Aaron Hernandez during the announcement of the the guilty verdict that convicted him of murder in the first degree, Wednesday, April 15, 2015; Copy of April 15, 2015 legal document obtained by AP showing the designation of a guilty verdict convicting then New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez of murdering Odin Lloyd
Above: AP graphic detailing the guilty verdicts for Aaron Hernandez, April 15, 2015
"Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for a deadly late-night shooting, sealing the downfall of an athlete who once had a $40 million contract and a standout career ahead of him.
Hernandez, 25, who had been considered one of the top tight ends in professional football, shook his head, pursed his lips and sat down after the jury forewoman pronounced him guilty in the slaying of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscaper and amateur weekend football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee."
---Associated Press, April 15, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers Defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 to 0
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Detroit Free Pressphotos of the visiting Detroit Tigers versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, April 15, 2015; Cover of Time magazine in September 1947, an issue featuring Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Above: On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers took the field and desegregated Major League Baseball. He was number forty-two, a number that is now honored by the league on April 15th
Above: Major League Baseball action on April 15, 2015, a day in which players wore number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodger who broke the MLB color barrier on April 15, 1947
The Battle for Ramadi: Civilians Flee the Embattled City
April 16, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Iraqi Security Forces and Anti-ISIS Tribal troops in Ramadi, Thursday, April 16, 2015; BBC map of Iraq with the city of Ramadi labeled
Above: BBC map identifying ISIS presence in Syria and Iraq, April 2015
"More than 2,000 families have fled from the Iraqi city of Ramadi, an official said Thursday, as the Islamic State group advanced on the provincial capital of the western Anbar province, clashing with Iraqi troops.
The extremist group, which has controlled the nearby city of Fallujah for more than a year, captured three villages on Ramadi's eastern outskirts on Wednesday. The advance is widely seen as a counteroffensive after the IS group lost the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, earlier this month.
Hundreds of U.S. troops are training Iraqi forces at a military base west of Ramadi, but a U.S. military official said the fighting had no impact on the U.S. soldiers there, and that there were no plans to withdraw them.
Sattar Nowruz, from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, said those fleeing Ramadi have settled in southern and western Baghdad suburbs.
Tents, food and other aid are being sent to them, he said. The ministry is also assessing the situation with the provincial government in order 'to provide the displaced people, who are undergoing difficult conditions, with better services and help,' Nowruz said.
Sporadic clashes were still underway Thursday, according to security officials in Ramadi. Government forces control the city center, while the IS group has had a presence in the suburbs and outskirts for months. They described Ramadi as a ghost town, with empty streets and closed shops."
---Associated Press, April 16, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Minnesota Twins Defeated the Kansas City Royals, 8 to 5
April 16, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the home team Minnesota Twins versus the visiting Kansas City Royals, Thursday, April 16, 2015
"In an intensifying humanitarian crisis in Iraq’s embattled Anbar Province, thousands of residents are fleeing a pitched battle between Islamic State militants and pro-government forces around the provincial capital.
Checkpoints on the main approach to Baghdad from western Anbar Province are choked with cars, as the Iraqi authorities refuse entry to people who do not have a resident of Baghdad to vouch for them and provide them shelter. In normal times, a drive between the provincial capital, Ramadi, and Baghdad takes little more than an hour. Those lucky enough to reach the Baghdad on Friday said they had been traveling for two days.
On the edge of Baghdad on Friday, just past a government checkpoint, Saad al-Thiabi, a police officer in Ramadi who has been battling Islamic State insurgents there for more than a year, was dropping off his family. He said he would return to the fight after catching a night’s sleep, and doubted that he would ever see his family again."
"A series of bombings ripped through Baghdad on Friday, mainly targeting public places and killing at least 40 people, Iraqi officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but violence has escalated both in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq in the wake of Islamic State group's capture of large swaths of territory in the country's west and north during a blitz last year. The Islamic State has taken credit for similar attacks in the past, especially those targeting Shiites, as well as Iraqi security forces and government buildings.
The deadliest of Friday's attacks came when a car bomb went off inside a car dealership in the Shiite neighborhood of Habibya in eastern Baghdad, killed 15 people and wounded 26 others, police said. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from the area as at least 11 cars were burnt. Security forces sealed off the place."
"A car bomb killed three people on Friday outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, a ally of Washington in the war against Islamic State, which claimed the attack."
"A motorcycle-riding suicide bomber attacked a bank branch Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 35 people in a deadly attack the country's president said was claimed by the Islamic State group.
The attack marks a major escalation in the country's fight against an affiliate of the extremist group that now holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate. It also comes as Afghan security forces fight against the Taliban after U.S. and NATO forces ended their combat mission in the country at the start of the year, yet another challenge for the war-ravaged nation.
The attack in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, targeted a crowd of soldiers and civilians gathered outside the bank to receive their monthly salaries. The blast killed at least 35 people and wounded 125, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Hours after the attack, President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Islamic State group for the bombing."
---Associated Press, April 18, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Toronto Blue Jays 6, Atlanta Braves 5
"Islamic State militants in Libya shot and beheaded groups of captive Ethiopian Christians, a video purportedly from the extremists showed Sunday. The attack widens the circle of nations affected by the group's atrocities while showing its growth beyond a self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
The release of the 29-minute video comes a day after Afghanistan's president blamed the extremists for a suicide attack in his country that killed at least 35 people — and underscores the chaos gripping Libya after its 2011 civil war and the killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
It also mirrored a film released in February showing militants beheading 21 captured Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach, which immediately drew Egyptian airstrikes on the group's suspected positions in Libya. Whether Ethiopia would — or could — respond with similar military force remains unclear."
"As many as 700 migrants were feared dead on Sunday after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, raising pressure on Europe to face down anti-immigrant bias and find money for support as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East worsens the crisis.
If the death toll is confirmed, it will bring to 1,500 the total number of people who died this year seeking to reach Europe - a swelling exodus that prompted Europe to downsize its seek and rescue border protection program in a bid to deter them. International aid groups strongly criticized the decision.
After news of Sunday's disaster several government leaders called for emergency talks and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said foreign ministers would discuss the immigration crisis at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. European Council President Donald Tusk said he was considering calling a special meeting of EU leaders, a summit that Renzi had called for earlier.
Meanwhile Italian and foreign ships and helicopters worked into the night to find possible survivors. So far 28 people have been rescued and 24 bodies recovered, Italian authorities said."
"A smuggler's boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya's coast as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean's deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action."
---Associated Press, April 20, 2015
The 20th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Domestic Terrorist Bombing
"Twenty years ago, on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a massive truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The attack killed 168 men, women and children, injured hundreds more, and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history."
"When a set of right-wing evildoers destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on this day twenty years ago, The Nation pointed out that if the conspiracy was fairly small, those who might rightly be considered Timothy McVeigh’s fellow travelers were legion—and walked the halls of Congress, no less apologetically, as one can't help but notice, now than then."
---The Nation, April 19, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers 9, Chicago White Sox 1
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 18,034 on April 20, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers 2, New York Yankees 1
April 20, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photos of Major League Baseball action between the Detroit Tigers and the visiting New York Yankees, a game won by Detroit, 2 to 1 on Monday, April 20, 2015
"Loretta Lynch won confirmation as the nation's first black female attorney general Thursday from a Senate that forced her to wait more than five months for the title and remained divided to the end.
The 56-43 vote installs Lynch, now U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, at the Justice Department to replace Eric Holder. Holder has served in the job throughout the Obama administration, becoming a lightning rod for conservatives who perceived him as overly political and liberal, and even getting held in contempt of Congress.
Lynch, 55, is seen as a no-nonsense prosecutor, and has wide law enforcement support. The issue that tore into her support with Republicans was immigration, and her refusal to denounce President Barack Obama's executive actions limiting deportations for millions of people living illegally in this country. Questioned on the issue at her confirmation hearing in January, she said she believed Obama's actions were reasonable and lawful.
Democrats angrily criticized Republicans for using the issue against her, saying an executive branch nominee could not be expected to disagree strongly with the president who appointed her, but Republicans were unapologetic."
---Associated Press, April 23, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Royals 3, White Sox 2
April 23, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a fight during a Major League Baseball game in Chicago involving players from the visiting Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, April 23, 2015
"The Apple Watch launched quietly around the world on Friday without the usual frenzy or fanfare for an Apple Inc rollout, as a handful of boutiques in major cities like Tokyo and Paris sold the timepiece - but not for purchase at its own stores.
Shops included The Corner in Berlin, Colette in Paris, Maxfield in Los Angeles and Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London. Apple courted the outlets to promote the watch as a fashion item rather than just another techie gizmo.
The watch has been on display in Apple stores since April 10, when it became available for preorder. Customers began receiving the smartwatch on Friday, though there were delays to June or later as Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's first product has drawn more demand than expected.
Paired with an iPhone, the watch allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls. It also tracks a person's health, for instance by monitoring heartbeats or tracking calories burned during a workout."
---Reuters, April 24, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Boston Red Sox 7, Baltimore Orioles 5
April 24, 2015 (Friday)
Above: AP photo of Boston Red Sox batter David Ortiz crossing home plate after hitting a home run versus home team Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 24, 2015
Milestone Interview on ABC: 1976 Olympics Men's Decathlon Champion Bruce Jenner Self-Identifies as a Woman
April 24, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Bruce Jenner, upon winning the gold medal in the Men's Decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada; ABCphoto posted on Twitter promoting Diane Sawyer's interview of Bruce Jenner, a primetime television event broadcast on April 24, 2015
"Former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner told the world that 'for all intents and purposes, I am a woman' in an extraordinary television interview aired Friday about gender confusion he first felt as a youngster trying on his mother's and sister's dresses.
The 1976 decathlon champion, known better to a new generation as the patriarch of television's omnipresent Kardashian clan, took out his ponytail to let his long hair flow past his shoulders.
'I'm not this bad person,' said Jenner, who hoped the two-hour interview could help others struggling with gender identity issues. 'I'm just doing what I have to do.'
The E! Entertainment network announced that Jenner would be part of a documentary series about the transition that would begin on July 26."
"Bruce Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist and member of the Kardashian family, ended months of speculation Friday night when he announced during an ABC television special that he identified as a woman and was making the transition from male to female."
---New York Times, April 24, 2015
Protest in Baltimore in the Wake of the Death of Freddie Gray
"At least 2,000 people protesting the unexplained death of a black man while in police custody marched through downtown Baltimore on Saturday, pausing at one point to confront officers in front of Camden Yards, home of the Orioles baseball team.
In the biggest protest since 25-year-old Freddie Gray died on Sunday, two clusters of marchers chanting 'shut it down' started out at different times before merging during the afternoon into a single wave headed toward City Hall.
Gray is the latest in a series of black men around the country who died under questionable circumstances during police encounters. Their deaths have triggered an outcry in the United States over what many see as law enforcement's unjustified use of force against African-Americans.
Last year, there were weeks of protests across the country following the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Eric Garner, in New York City who was placed in a chokehold during an attempted arrest.
Saturday's protests came a day after Baltimore's police commissioner conceded that police had failed to provide Gray with timely medical attention for a spinal injury he had suffered sometime after he was apprehended and put inside a transport van. Police have not explained how he sustained the injury. He died a week after his arrest on April 12."
"Thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday in the largest Freddie Gray rally yet, and after hours of peaceful demonstrations, pockets of protesters smashed out police car windows and storefronts.
At least two people were hurt in the mayhem and three people were detained. The problems happened near Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles game against the Boston Red Sox went on as scheduled. At one point, demonstrators fought with fans at a bar before the game.
Protesters threw cans and plastic bottles in the direction of police officers. One protester broke out the window of a police cruiser, grabbed a police hat inside and wore it while standing on top of the cruiser with several other protesters.
At that point, scores of officer rushed into the area, stopped and formed a line, three officers deep. The protesters scattered but returned a few minutes later and began yelling 'What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!'
From inside the stadium, fans watched the protesters gather.
Before the protest turned tense, demonstrators filled two city blocks and marched 2 miles to City Hall, where the crowd overtook the grassy plaza adjacent from the building."
---Associated Press, April 25, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Baltimore 5, Boston 4
"At the gathering he jokingly called 'a night when Washington celebrates itself,' U.S. President Barack Obama took light-hearted aim on Saturday at a range of political friends and foes, including the people running to succeed him."
---Reuters, April 26, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit 8, Cleveland 6
April 26, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of a Detroit Tigers pitcher versus the Cleveland Indians in Detroit, Sunday, April 26, 2015
"Loretta Lynch was sworn in Monday as the 83rd U.S. attorney general, the first African-American woman to serve as the nation's top law enforcement official."
---Associated Press, April 27, 2015
Anti-Police Race Riots in Baltimore on the Day of the Freddie Gray Funeral
"Rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos Monday, torching a pharmacy, setting police cars ablaze and throwing bricks at officers hours after thousands mourned the man who died from a severe spinal injury he suffered in police custody.
The governor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to restore order, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in her first day on the job, said she would send Justice Department officials to the city in coming days. A weeklong, daily curfew was imposed beginning Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the mayor said. At least 15 officers were hurt, and some two dozen people were arrested. Two officers remained hospitalized, police said."
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Cancellation of Chicago White Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles Due to Riots in Baltimore, Maryland
April 27, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Baltimore Sun photo of a sign at Camden Yards (Home of the Baltimore Orioles) announcing the postponement of the Major League Baseball game between the Orioles and the visiting Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 27, 2015
"Camden Yards has for twenty-five years been at the heart of what has been held up as the recipe not only for what’s been described as Baltimore’s urban 'renewal' but as a template for every city like Baltimore that once was the site of real industry with a decent tax base and union labor. That’s why we have seen similar ballparks, big on charm and big on public subsidies, get built over the last generation—to name a just a sampling—in Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago’s South Side, and Pittsburgh. All of these cities were at one time synonymous with industry and multiracial labor power. Now they have boarded up factories—or factories that have been transformed into postmodern coffee shops or bars—and baseball stadiums. These stadiums were all built with promises not only of economically competitive teams but of jobs that would replace the industrial labor of the past. If we didn’t know it before, the scene at Camden Yards should carve it permanently into the tablets of history. This sports-centric urban planning has been a failure built on a foundation of lies—exercises in corporate welfare and false political promises we were, lacking a credible public policy alternative, willing to swallow. What the stadiums have become instead are strategic hamlets of gentrification and displacement. They have morphed into cathedrals to economic and racial apartheid, dividing cities between haves and have-nots, between those who go to the game to watch and those who go to the game looking for low-income work."
---Dave Zirin, The Nation, April 28, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Cincinnati Reds 9, Milwaukee Brewers 6
April 27, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Milwaukee Brewers at the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, April 27, 2015
"Urging Americans to 'do some soul-searching,' President Barack Obama expressed deep frustration Tuesday over recurring black deaths at the hands of police, rioters responding with senseless violence and a society that will only 'feign concern' without addressing the root causes."
---Associated Press, April 28, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Miami Marlins 4, New York Mets 3
April 28, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the New York Mets at the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 28, 2015
"The U.S. economy ground nearly to a halt in the first three months of the year, according to government data released Wednesday morning, as exports plunged and severe winter weather helped keep consumers indoors."
40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the End of the Vietnam War
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Mobile Register coverage of the fall and surrender of South Vietnam, April 30, 1975 issue
Above: Mobile Presscoverage of the fall and surrender of South Vietnam, May 1, 1975 issue
70th Anniversary of the Death of Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Timecover, May 7, 1945 issue
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Houston Astros 3, Seattle Mariners 2
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a Houston Astros batter versus the Seattle Mariners in Houston, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2015; AP photo of a Houston Astros pitcher in a Major League Baseball game versus the Seattle Mariners in Houston, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2015
April 2015
The War Against ISIS: Tikrit Falls to Iraqi Forces
April 1, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: -AP photos of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walking in Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Above: New York Times map of Iraq with the city of Tikrit highlighted
Reuters: Tikrit Has Fallen to Iraqi Forces, April 1, 2015
"The Iraqi government claimed victory over Islamic State insurgents in Tikrit on Wednesday after a month-long battle for the city supported by Shi'ite militiamen and U.S.-led air strikes, saying that only small pockets of resistance remained.
State television showed Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, accompanied by leaders of the army and police, the provincial governor and Shi'ite paramilitary leaders, parading through Tikrit and raising an Iraqi flag.
The militants captured the city, about 140 km (90 miles) north of Baghdad, last June as they swept through most of Iraq's Sunni Muslim territories, swatting aside a demoralized and disorganized army that has now required an uneasy combination of Iranian and American support to get back on its feet."
---Reuters, April 1, 2015
Associated Press: Tikrit Falls to Iraqi Forces
"The government declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday over extremists of the Islamic State group, and it warned the militants holding other Iraqi provinces that they would be the next to fall.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walked triumphantly along a street in Tikrit, carrying an Iraqi flag and surrounded by jubilant forces.
Across the border in Syria, however, Islamic State fighters made their deepest foray yet into the capital of Damascus by infiltrating a Palestinian refugee camp, according to opposition activists and Palestinian officials.
Iraq's victory over the extremists in Tikrit was seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province."
---Associated Press, April 1, 2015
Associated Press: Tikrit, a Devastated City
"In Iraq's Tikrit, liberation from the Islamic State group comes at a heavy price, both in loss of life and in the sheer devastation the militants leave in their wake.
Much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and once a bustling city north of Baghdad, now lies in ruins.
Islamic State extremists captured it during a blitz last June that also seized large chunks of northern and western Iraq, along with a huge swath of land in neighboring Syria.
After a nearly 10-month Islamic State occupation, it took Iraqi forces and their allies, including Iranian-backed Shiite militias, a month of ferocious street battles to win the city back. They declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday, and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes also helped turn the tide in the final weeks of the battle."
---Associated Press, April 4, 2015
Christians in Kenya Targeted in Slaughter Carried out by Jihadist Group Al-Shabaab
April 2, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Kenyan military personnel near the scene of the Al-Shabaab jihadist attack on Garissa University College, Thursday, April 2, 2015; AP photo of a victim (airlifted to Nairobi, Kenya) of the Al-Shabaab attack at Garissa University College, Thursday, April 2, 2015
Above: Wikipedia map of Kenya; Wikipedia map of Africa with the nation of Kenya highlighted
Associated Press: Jihadists Slaughter Dozens in Kenya, Christians Targeted, April 2, 2015
Al-Shabab gunmen stormed a university in northeastern Kenya at dawn Thursday, killing more than 70 people in the group's bloodiest attack in the East African country, officials said. Four of the gunmen were killed by security forces.
"In the attack, which turned into a hostage siege that continued into the evening at Garissa University College, masked militants separated Christian students from Muslims, and then gunned them down without mercy, survivors said. Others ran for their lives with bullets whistling through the air, and hundreds of students remained unaccounted for more than 11 hours after the bloodshed began.
At least 79 people were wounded at the school 145 kilometers (90 miles) from the Somali border by the al-Qaida linked group, said Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery, who gave the death toll of more than 70. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was ordered in Garissa and three nearby counties.
Kenyan security forces cornered the gunmen in a dormitory, and President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a speech to the nation that the attackers were holding hostages.
Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for al-Shabab, said fighters from the Somalia-based extremist group were responsible. The al-Qaida-linked group has been blamed for a series of attacks, including the siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 that killed 67 people, as well as other violence in northern Kenya."
---Associated Press, April 2, 2015
Reuters: Over 140 Killed in Jihadist Attack on Kenyan University
"The death toll in an assault by Somali militants on a Kenyan university is likely to climb above 147, a government source and media said on Friday, as anger grew among local residents over what they say was a government failure to prevent bloodshed.
Strapped with explosives, masked al Shabaab gunmen stormed the Garissa University College campus, some 200 km (120 miles) from the Somali border, in a pre-dawn rampage on Thursday.
Tossing grenades and spraying bullets at cowering students, the attackers initially killed indiscriminately. But they later freed some Muslims and instead targeted Christian students during a siege that lasted about 15 hours.
Anger over the massacre was compounded by the fact there were warnings last week that an attack on a university was imminent. Local residents accused the authorities of doing little to boost security in this little-developed region."
---Reuters, April 3, 2015
A Call for a Muslim Reformation
"An Islamic reformation would be painful, surely internally violent — as reformation’s various phases were in Christianity. It would mean the sharp diminution of the power of the Imams; frontal challenges to the moral framework of millions, and to the power of religiously based dynasties, like the House of Saud. But if reform, and opening a space for free, unafraid debate, is to move from the fringes to the center and allow the majority to encompass both secular citizenship and devout practice, this hard transition is necessary — especially for Muslims themselves, the first and most numerous victims of extremism."
---John Lloyd, Reuters, April 2, 2015
Tentative Deal Reached Between Iran and World Powers Regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program
April 2, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of European Union Representative Federica Mogherini; Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif; British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond; United States Secretary of State John Kerry in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, April 2, 2015; U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
Above: AP photo of President Barack Obama walking to the Rose Garden at the White House, Thursday, April 2, 2015; AP photo of President Barack Obama issuing a statement regarding Iran, Rose Garden, White House, Thursday, April 2, 2015
Above: Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif; President of Iran Hassan Rouhani; Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
Above: Associated Press map of Iran regarding its assets pertaining to its nuclear program, April 2015
Above: Reuters graphic regarding Iran's ability to enrich uranium
Above: Reuters graphic regarding Iran's nuclear program
Associated Press: Iran and World Powers Reach Tentative Framework Deal on the Iranian Nuclear Program, April 2, 2015
"Capping exhausting and contentious talks, Iran and world powers sealed a breakthrough agreement Thursday outlining limits on Iran's nuclear program to keep it from being able to produce atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic was promised an end to years of crippling economic sanctions, but only if negotiators transform the plan into a comprehensive pact.
They will try to do that in the next three months."
---Associated Press, April 2, 2015
New York Times: U.S. and Other Powers Reach Tentative Deal with Iran Regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program, April 2, 2015
"Iran and the world powers said here Thursday that they had reached a surprisingly specific and comprehensive general understanding about the next steps in limiting Tehran’s nuclear program, though Western officials said many details needed to be resolved before a final agreement in June.
There was no mistaking the upbeat mood surrounding the announcement, following eight days of intense debate between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. 'We have stopped a cycle that is not in the interest of anybody,' an exuberant Mr. Zarif said at a news conference after the announcement."
---New York Times, April 2, 2015
Reuters: Tentative Deal Struck with Iran Over its Nuclear Program
"Iran and world powers reached a framework agreement on Thursday on curbing Iran's nuclear program for at least a decade, a step toward a comprehensive accord that could end 12 years of brinkmanship, threats and confrontation.
The tentative agreement, after eight days of marathon talks in Switzerland, clears the way for talks on the future settlement that should allay Western fears that Iran was seeking to build an atomic bomb and in return lift economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The framework is contingent on reaching an agreement by June 30 and all sanctions on Iran remain in place until a final deal is reached."
---Reuters, April 2, 2015
Associated Press: Obama vs. Congress on Iran
"After securing a surprisingly broad and detailed framework for a nuclear agreement with Iran, President Barack Obama must now subject his signature foreign policy pursuit to the gauntlet of partisan American politics.
A blueprint finalized Thursday after marathon negotiations in Switzerland did little to ease the standoff between Obama and some lawmakers over Congress' role in a final accord. The president has vowed to veto legislation giving Congress the ability to approve or reject a deal, and he made a fresh appeal for lawmakers to give the U.S. and its international partners space to hammer out a comprehensive agreement ahead of a June 30 deadline.
'The issues at stake here are bigger than politics,' Obama said. 'These are matters of war and peace.'
But Republican leaders reaffirmed their intent to vote on legislation giving Congress the last word. Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the panel will vote on such a measure when lawmakers return from a spring recess on April 14.
'The administration first should seek the input of the American people,' Corker said.
Some Democrats have backed Corker's quest for a congressional vote on an Iran deal, raising the possibility that lawmakers could override a presidential veto."
---Associated Press, April 3, 2015
The New Yorker: Obama's Breakthrough on Iran
"The G.O.P. did everything that it could to scuttle this deal. Forty-seven Republican senators sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader that will go down in the annals of diplomatic sabotage, and made it harder for American negotiators to demand a deal that the White House itself would find acceptable. They did so even though their ostensible goal—keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear power—was the same as the President’s. It would have been easy, on Tuesday, when the original deadline for the talks expired, for the American negotiators to walk away—and for Obama to blame it all on the Republicans and just say that they had made it too difficult to reach an agreement. He’s done that in the past. (Guantánamo.) But the President told John Kerry—whose efforts he referred to in his statement on Thursday as 'tireless, and I mean tireless'—to keep going, and Kerry and his fellow diplomats seem to have come up with something that, while not perfect, does look pretty good."
---Amy Davidson, The New Yorker, April 2, 2015
The Atlantic's Peter Beinart: A Really Big Deal
"Right now, a thousand pundits and politicians are debating the details of Thursday’s framework nuclear deal with Iran. That’s fine. I think the details are far, far better than the alternative—which was a collapse of the diplomatic process, a collapse of international sanctions as Russia and China went back to business as usual with Tehran, and a collapse of the world’s ability to send inspectors into Iran. But ultimately, the details aren’t what matters. What matters is the potential end of America’s 36-year-long cold war with Iran.
For the United States, ending that cold war could bring three enormous benefits. First, it could reduce American dependence on Saudi Arabia. Before the fall of the shah in 1979, the United States had good relations with both Tehran and Riyadh, which meant America wasn’t overly reliant on either. Since the Islamic Revolution, however, Saudi Arabia has been America’s primary oil-producing ally in the Persian Gulf. After 9/11, when 19 hijackers—15 of them Saudis—destroyed the Twin Towers, many Americans realized the perils of so great a dependence on a country that was exporting so much pathology. One of the unstated goals of the Iraq War was to give the United States a large, stable, oil-producing ally as a hedge against the uncertain future of the House of Saud.
What George W. Bush failed to achieve militarily, Barack Obama may now be achieving diplomatically."
---Peter Beinart, The Atlantic, April 3, 2015
Peter Baker in the New York Times: Obama's Big Gamble
"On the day he took office, President Obama reached out to America’s enemies, offering in his first inaugural address to 'extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.' More than six years later, he has arrived at a moment of truth in testing that proposition with one of the nation’s most intransigent adversaries.
The framework nuclear agreement he reached with Iran on Thursday did not provide the definitive answer to whether Mr. Obama’s audacious gamble will pay off. The fist Iran has shaken at the so-called Great Satan since 1979 has not completely relaxed. But the fingers are loosening, and the agreement, while still incomplete, held out the prospect that it might yet become a handshake."
---Peter Baker, The New York Times, April 2, 2015
U.S. Monthly Jobs Report: Tepid Jobs Creation at 126,000 for March 2015
April 3, 2015 (Friday)
Above: CNN chart showing U.S. monthly jobs creation from March 2014 through March 2015
A White South Carolina Policeman Fatally Shoots a Fleeing African-American Man
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photos (via video made by a witness) showing North Charleston Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager with raised gun as Walter Scott flees
Above: AP photos (via video made by a witness) showing Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager over wounded or dead Walter Scott
Above: North Charleston, South Carolina Policeman Michael Thomas Slager
Charleston Post and Courier: White North Charleston Police Officer Fatally Shoots Fleeing African-American Man
"The three-minute clip of Saturday morning’s shooting starts shaky, but it steadies as Slager and Scott appear to be grabbing at each other’s hands.
Slager has said through his attorney that Scott had wrested his Taser from him during a struggle.
The video appears to show Scott slapping at the officer’s hands as several objects fall to the ground. It’s not clear what the objects are.
Scott starts running away. Wires from Slager’s Taser stretch from Scott’s clothing to the officer’s hands.
With Scott more than 10 feet from Slager, the officer draws his pistol and fires seven times in rapid succession. After a brief pause, the officer fires one last time. Scott’s back bows, and he falls face first to the ground near a tree.
After the gunfire, Slager glances at the person taking the video, then talks into his radio."
---Charleston Post and Courier, April 8, 2015
New York Daily News: White South Carolina Policeman Guns Down Black Man in North Charleston, April 4, 2015
"The deadly confrontation reportedly began about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Slager claimed he pulled over Scott for a broken taillight and opened fire after Walter Scott took his Taser. He said he feared for his life during a struggle with the 50-year-old Scott.
Scott is seen in the video sprinting from the officer and appears to clear at least 15 feet before Slager fires the first of eight shots. Dressed in a green shirt and jeans, Scott stumbled and then crumpled face first into the grass."
---New York Daily News, April 7, 2015
Washington Post: The Killing of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina
"The shooting began with a routine traffic stop after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. After Slager stopped a vehicle, he began chasing Walter Scott, 50, and fired his Taser, according to the incident report and city officials.
Footage of the shooting, first obtained by the New York Times and the Post and Courier newspaper, showed Scott fleeing from Slager across a tree-lined patch of grass. Slager fires a series of shots at Scott, who appears to be unarmed, striking Scott 'multiple times in the back,' according to an affidavit filed Tuesday evening."
---Washington Post, April 7, 2015
Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke Defeats Michigan State, 81 to 61
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Duke battling Michigan State in a Final Four contest in Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, April 4, 2015
Associated Press: Duke Beats Michigan State by Twenty in Final Four Game, April 4, 2015
ESPN: Duke Defeats Michigan State by 20 in Final Four Contest, April 4, 2015
"Justise Winslow scored 19 points, fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor added 18, and senior Quinn Cook had 17 to lead top-seeded Duke to an 81-61 victory over Michigan State on Saturday and into yet another title game in the city known for a 500-mile auto race."
---ESPN, April 4, 2015
Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Wisconsin Knocks Off Heretofore Undefeated Kentucky
April 4, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Wisconsin battling Kentucky in Final Four Action, Saturday, April 4, 2015
ESPN: Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64
ESPN: Wisconsin Knocks Off Kentucky in a Final Four Showdown, April 4, 2015
"Nobody ever said they were perfect. Now, the Kentucky Wildcats aren't undefeated, either.
The hard-nosed Wisconsin Badgers did what nobody else could this season -- knocking off the Wildcats 71-64 on Saturday night behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Frank Kaminsky and a clutch comeback down the stretch.
Now, instead of Kentucky going for history, it's Wisconsin heading to the final to play Duke, an 81-61 winner over Michigan State in the earlier -- and much less entertaining -- semifinal."
---ESPN, April 4, 2015
Pope Francis Voices Support for the Lausanne Framework Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program
April 5, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photos of Pope Francis during the occasion of the Ubi et Urbi message at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015
Associated Press: Pope Francis' Remarks on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015
"In an Easter peace wish, Pope Francis on Sunday praised the framework nuclear agreement with Iran as an opportunity to make the world safer, while expressing deep worry about bloodshed in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.
Cautious hope ran through Francis' 'Urbi et Orbi' Easter message, a kind of papal commentary on the state of the world's affairs, which he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square.
He had just celebrated Mass in rain-whipped St. Peter's Square for tens of thousands of people, who huddled under umbrellas or braved the downpour in thin, plastic rain-slickers.
Easter day is 'so beautiful, and so ugly because of the rain,' Francis said after Mass about Christianity's most important feast day. He expressed thanks for the flowers which bedecked the square and which were donated by the Netherlands, but the bright hues of the azaleas and other blossoms seemed muted by the gray skies.
Francis made his first public comments about the recent framework for an accord, reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, and aimed at ensuring Iran doesn't develop a nuclear weapon."
---Associated Press, April 5, 2015
First Game of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: The St. Louis Cardinals Defeat the Chicago Cubs, 3 to 0
April 5, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of season-opening action between the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Sunday, April 5, 2015--a game won by the Cardinals, 3 to 0
ESPN: Box Score of St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs, April 5, 2015
Premiere of Season 7, Part II (the Final Installment) of Mad Men on AMC
April 5, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: Title card for Mad Men
Above: Mad Men promotional posters (left to right) for Seasons 1,2, and 3
Above: Mad Men promotional posters (left to right) for Seasons 4,5, and 6
Above: Mad Men promotional poster for Season 7
Salon: "Don Draper, American Anti-Hero"
"In seven hours Mad Men will end its run as one of most acclaimed shows in American television history, perhaps the single series most emblematic of the Golden Age of Television as we’ve come to call it. Airing on AMC instead of a major network, Mad Men has been able to deal with the realities of Postwar America in a way that more heavily censored, commercially-oriented shows haven’t. The show is just plain big, sprawling and ambitious in a way that fits its focus, America.
As far as I’m concerned, you can have The Sopranos and Breaking Bad (the other two members of the Golden Age Triumvirate). In terms of scope—of addressing the past, present, and future not just of America but of humanity—Mad Men has no equal. Rather than the titillation of mobsters and meth labs, Mad Men is held together by quiet heartbreaks and small, painful victories, the dialogue of its writers and the acting chops of a stellar cast led by John Hamm as Don Draper.
In Mad Men’s leading man, Hamm and Writer/Creator Matt Weiner have constructed a character at once overblown and understated, symbolic and deeply realistic, a man who lies with the ease of a born grifter but sometimes gives us truths profound enough to still all other thought, realizations spoken with the philosophical depth and unflinching clarity of the tired God of some doomed universe. A God who in spite of all he knows still carries a few measures of hope."
---Kurt Baumeister, Salon, April 5, 2015
The Opening of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season
April 6, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers during the season-opening game versus the Minnesota Twins, Monday, April 6, 2015; AP photo of Cincinnati Reds pitcher during season-opening game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, Monday, April 6, 2015
ESPN: Detroit 4, Minnesota 0 ESPN: Red Sox 8, Phillies 0 ESPN: Royals 10, White Sox 1
ESPN: Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1 ESPN: Mets 3, Nationals 1 ESPN: Reds 5, Pirates 2
ESPN: Braves 2, Marlins 1 ESPN: Colorado 10, Milwaukee 0 ESPN: San Francisco 5, Arizona 4
ESPN: Oakland 8, Texas 0 ESPN: Houston 2, Cleveland 0 ESPN: Mariners 4, Angels 1
ESPN: Dodgers 6, Padres 3 ESPN: Baltimore 6, Tampa Bay 2
American League Insignia
American League East Teams: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays
American League Central Teams: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins
American League West Teams: Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland A's, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
National League Insignia
National League East Teams: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals
National League Central Teams: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals
National League West Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
Championship Game of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke Beats Wisconsin, 68 to 63
April 6, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of Duke and Wisconsin battling for a national title in the 2015 Men's NCAA Tourney, Monday, April 6, 2015
ESPN: Duke Prevails Over Wisconsin to Claim National Title, April 6, 2015
"Call them freshmen. Please, do not call them kids.
Led by Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, Duke's talented group of youngsters played like salty old pros down the stretch, outscoring Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes Monday night to grit out a 68-63 victory for the program's fifth national title."
---ESPN, April 6, 2015
U.S. Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, Declares his Presidential Candidacy
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Senator Rand Paul and wife during his presidential candidacy announcement, Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Reuters: Rand Paul Declares Candidacy for President of the United States, April 7, 2015
"U.S. Senator Rand Paul accused his fellow Republicans on Tuesday of contributing to Washington's dysfunction, launching a 2016 White House bid with a vow to shatter the status quo and defend individual freedoms.
The first-term senator from Kentucky, a libertarian with a reputation for challenging party orthodoxy, criticized both Republicans and Democrats for helping to drive up the federal debt and reduce personal liberties.
He cast himself as an anti-establishment reformer who could break partisan gridlock and win new converts to the party, saying his fellow Republicans fall prey to the allure of special interests in Washington."
---Reuters, April 7, 2015
North Charleston, South Carolina Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager Charged with Murdering Walter L. Scott
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: North Charleston police officer Michael Thomas Slager who was charged with the murder of Walter L. Scott
Above: AP photos (via video footage shot by witness) of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager pointing a pistol at Walter L. Scott, August 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager near Walter L. Scott, the man that Slager had shot moments before, August 4, 2015
New York Times: White South Carolina Police Officer Charged with Murder of African-American Walter Scott, April 7, 2015
"A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.
The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening."
---New York Times, April 7, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Atlanta Braves Beat the Miami Marlins, 12 to 2
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of an Atlanta Braves pitcher in action versus the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 7, 2015; AP photo of a Miami Marlins pitcher in action versus the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Braves 12, Marlins 2
2015 Chicago Mayoral Election Runoff: Rahm Emanuel Wins Re-Election
April 7, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel
Reuters: Rahm Emanuel Re-Elected Mayor of Chicago, April 7, 2015
"Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won re-election on Tuesday against challenger Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia in a hard-fought race to lead a city on the brink of financial crisis and plagued by violent crime.
Emanuel, 55, who has spent millions of dollars on television and radio ads in his bid for re-election, was leading by about 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Garcia with 86 percent of precincts reporting, according to the city's Board of Election Commissioners. Turnout was 44 percent.
Over a six-week-long non-partisan race, the battle between Democrats Emanuel and Garcia became a symbol for a national divide between the party's moderates and the less well-funded progressive wing.
Once an aide to former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Emanuel finished first among five candidates in February, but did not get the 50 percent of the vote needed to win the nonpartisan election outright. Garcia, 58, a Cook County commissioner and a former state senator and alderman, finished second."
---Reuters, April 7, 2015
U.S. Soldier Slain by Afghan Soldier in Jalalabad, Afghanistan
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Wikipedia map of Afghanistan; AP photo of Afghan officials at the site in Jalalabad, Afghanistan where an American soldier was killed by an Afghan soldier, Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Associated Press: American Soldier Fatally Attacked in Afghanistan by Afghan Soldier, April 8, 2015
"An Afghan soldier opened fire at a group of U.S. troops in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing an American soldier and wounding at least two others before he was shot dead, a U.S. official said.
The incident happened after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. Embassy official in the compound of the provincial governor in Jalalabad. All U.S. Embassy staff were accounted for and returned safely to their mission headquarters, the embassy said.
It was the latest in so-called 'insider attacks' — instances in which Afghan soldiers or policemen have turned their weapons on their fellow American or other NATO colleagues.
The attack was also the second fatality suffered by NATO since the beginning of the year, when the coalition launched its new mission in Afghanistan called Resolute Support after foreign combat troops withdrew from the country.
The last previous incident in which an American soldier was killed in Afghanistan was on Dec. 13, when a roadside bombing killed two U.S. troops in Parwan province. Also, an Afghan soldier killed three American contractors on January 29. The shooter was also killed in that incident."
---Associated Press, April 8, 2015
Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager Fired From North Charleston, S.C. Police Department
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: North Charleston Police Department (source: AP) photo of Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager, the police officer who shot and killed Walter L. Scott, an African-American, on April 4, 2015
Above: AP photos of protesters in front of the North Charleston, South Carolina City Hall, April 8, 2015
Above: AP photo of a protester in North Charleston, South Carolina holding a sign declaring, "I am a man," April 8, 2015; AP photo of a protester's sign in North Charleston, South Carolina, a sign with the message, "The whole world is watching," April 8, 2015
Associated Press: Police Officer Fired
"A white South Carolina police officer who claimed he killed an unarmed black man in self-defense has been fired, the city's mayor announced Wednesday, a day after the release of a video showing the officer firing eight shots at the fleeing man's back.
The mayor also announced that he had ordered body cameras to be worn by every single officer on the force in North Charleston.
Protests began within hours of the murder charge against Michael Thomas Slager.
'I have watched the video. And I was sickened by what I saw. And I have not watched it since,' Police Chief Eddie Driggers said. He was interrupted by chants of 'no justice, no peace' and other shouted questions that he and the mayor said they could not answer.
The town will continue to pay for Slager's health insurance because his wife is eight months pregnant, said Mayor Keith Summey, who called the incident a tragedy for two families.
About 75 people gathered outside City Hall, led by a Black Lives Matter, a group formed after the fatal shooting of another black man in Ferguson, Missouri.
'Eight shots in the back!' local organizer Muhiydin D'Baha shouted through a bullhorn. The crowd yelled 'In the back!' in response.
The video recorded by an unidentified bystander shows North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager dropping his Taser, pulling out his Glock pistol and firing at Walter Lamer Scott from a distance as he runs away. The 50-year-old man falls after the eighth shot."
---Associated Press, April 8, 2015
Associated Press: Witness Says Slager Gave No Warning to Walter Scott
Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Found Guilty on Thirty Counts, Eligible for the Death Penalty
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: AP photo via FBI of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; Martin Richard, age 8, one of the fatalities at the hands of the Tsarnaev brothers
Associated Press: Tsarnaev Found Guilty on all Counts, April 8, 2015
"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on all charges Wednesday in the Boston Marathon bombing by a federal jury that now must decide whether the 21-year-old former college student should be executed.
Tsarnaev folded his arms, fidgeted and looked down at the defense table as he listened to one guilty verdict after another on all 30 counts against him, including conspiracy and deadly use of a weapon of mass destruction. Seventeen of those counts are punishable by death.
The verdict — reached after a day and a half of deliberations — was practically a foregone conclusion, given his lawyer's startling admission at the trial's outset that Tsarnaev carried out the terror attack with his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan.
The two shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that exploded near the finish line on April 15, 2013, killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 other people, turning the traditionally celebratory home stretch of the world-famous race into a scene of carnage and putting the city on edge for days.
Tsarnaev was found responsible not only for those deaths but for the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was gunned down days later."
---Associated Press, April 8, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Shuts Out Minnesota
April 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers, a game won by Detroit 11 to 0 on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Detroit 11, Minnesota 0 Cubs 2, Cardinals 0 Braves 2, Marlins 0 Cleveland 2, Houston 0 Phillies 4, Red Sox 2
Rockies 5, Brewers 4 Royals 7, White Sox 5 Rays 2, Orioles 0 Nationals 2, Mets 1 Yankees 4, Blue Jays 3
Reds 5, Pirates 4 Giants 5, Diamondbacks 2 Dodgers 7, Padres 4 Oakland 10, Texas 0 Angels 5, Mariners 3
The Legacy of the American Civil War: The 150th Anniversary of Robert E. Lee's Surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox
April 9, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Painting depicting Confederate General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendering on April 9, 1865 to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the U.S. Army of the Potomac
Associated Press: The 150th Anniversary of the Confederate Surrender at Appomattox
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Cincinnati Reds Defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 to 2
April 9, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action in Cincinnati, Ohio between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates, Thursday, April 9, 2015
Cincinnati Reds 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
ISIS Takes the Offensive in Anbar Province, Iraq
April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Wikipedia map of Iraq; Wikipedia map of Iraq with Anbar Province highlighted in dark orange
Above: BBC map of Iraq with the city of Ramadi labeled
Reuters: ISIS Goes on the Offensive in Anbar Province, Iraq, April 10, 2015
"Islamic State militants attacked the capital of Iraq's vast Anbar province on multiple fronts on Friday, seizing two areas on the city outskirts in a setback for a government campaign to retake the desert terrain.
The jihadists deployed vehicle and suicide bombs to tear through Iraqi government lines north of the city of Ramadi overnight before attacking on foot, said security officials and a hospital source.
The head of Anbar's provincial council, Sabah Karhout, called on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send urgent military reinforcements and supplies to fighters, saying they were running low on ammunition.
Abadi visited Anbar on Tuesday and declared the start of the operation to liberate the Sunni Muslim heartland, seeking to build on a victory over Islamic State last week in the city of Tikrit.
But a police source in Ramadi said early on Friday the insurgents had taken half of the Albu Faraj area, and provincial council member Athal al-Fahdawi later said it had been overrun completely.
Hundreds of families were fleeing Albu Faraj, just north of Ramadi, after Islamic State militants broke into the homes of policemen and soldiers in the area and killed 15 members of their families.
A car bomb blew up the bridge linking Ramadi and Albu Faraj across the Euphrates river, a police source said."
---Reuters, April 10, 2015
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Closes Above 18,000
April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 18,057 on April 10, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Red Sox Triumph Over Yankees in 19 Innings
April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Above: AP photo of a Red Sox player in action against the New York Yankees, Friday, April 10, 2015---a game that ultimately went 19 innings in which the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees, 6 to 5
Rockies 5, Cubs 1 Detroit 8, Cleveland 4 Twins 6, White Sox 0 Astros 5, Rangers 1 Toronto 12, Baltimore 5
Phillies 4, Nationals 1 Reds 5, Cardinals 4 Miami 10, Tampa Bay 9 Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 2 Braves 5, Mets 3
Padres 1, Giants 0 Oakland 12, Seattle 0 Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 3 Royals 4, Angels 2 Red Sox 6, Yankees 5
ESPN: Red Sox and Yankees 19 Innings Marathon
U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro Meet in Panama
April 11, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photo of Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015
Above: AP photo of Cuban President Raul Castro shaking hands with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, April 11, 2015
Associated Press: Barack Obama and Raul Castro Hold Meeting in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015
"President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro sat down together Saturday in the first formal meeting of the two country's leaders in a half-century, pledging to reach for the kind of peaceful relationship that has eluded their nations for generations.
In a small conference room in a Panama City convention center, the two sat side by side in a bid to inject fresh momentum into their months-old effort to restore diplomatic ties. Reflecting on the historic nature of the meeting, Obama said he felt it was time to try something new and to engage with both Cuba's government and its people."
---Associated Press, April 11, 2015
Time.com: Historic Meeting Between Barack Obama and Raul Castro, April 11, 2015
New York Times: Obama and Raul Castro Conduct Historic Meeting, April 11, 2015
"President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba met here Saturday in the first face-to-face discussion between the leaders of the two countries in a half-century.
Seated beside Mr. Castro in a small room in the convention center downtown where the Summit of the Americas was being held, Mr. Obama called it a 'historic meeting.'"
---New York Times, April 11, 2015
Opening Week of the 2015 Major League Baseball Season: Red Sox Beat the Yankees, 8 to 4
April 11, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photos of Major League Baseball action between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, a game in Yankee Stadium in which the Red Sox prevailed, 8 to 4
Cardinals 4, Reds 1 Red Sox 8, Yankees 4 White Sox 5, Twins 4 Rays 2, Marlins 0 Detroit 9, Cleveland 6
Braves 5, Mets 3 Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 0 Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 0 Phillies 3, Nationals 2 Rangers 6, Astros 2
Cubs 9, Rockies 5 Orioles 7, Blue Jays 1 Seattle 5, Oakland 4 Royals 6, Angels 4 Padres 10, Giants 2
ESPN: After 19 Innings Marathon, Red Sox Follow up with Second Win Over Yankees, April 11, 2015
The Arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: Freddie Gray
The Atlantic: The Arrest and Subsequent Death of Freddie Gray
70th Anniversary of the Death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: The unfinished portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Announces her Candidacy for President of the United States
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo (via online video) of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing her candidacy for President of the United States of America, Sunday, April 12, 2015
Associated Press: Via Video, Hillary Clinton Announces her Candidacy for President of the United States, April 12, 2015
"Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped back into presidential politics on Sunday, making a much-awaited announcement she will again seek the White House with a promise to serve as the 'champion' of everyday Americans.
Clinton opened her bid for the 2016 Democratic nomination by positioning herself as the heir to the diverse coalition of voters who elected her immediate predecessor and former campaign rival, President Barack Obama, as well as an appeal to those in her party still leery of her commitment to fighting income inequality.
And unlike eight years ago, when she ran as a candidate with a deep resume in Washington, Clinton and her personal history weren't the focus of the first message of her campaign. In the online video that kicked off her campaign, she made no mention of her time in the Senate and four years as secretary of state, or the prospect she could make history as the nation's first female president."
---Associated Press, April 12, 2015
CNN: Hillary Clinton to Run for President
Reuters: Hillary Clinton is Running for President, April 12, 2015
"Hillary Clinton cast herself as a champion for everyday Americans on Sunday, kicking off her long-awaited second run for the White House with a vow to fight for a level playing field for those recovering from tough economic times.
Clinton, who begins the 2016 presidential race as the commanding Democratic front runner, entered the fray with a flurry of video, email and social media announcements that indicated she had absorbed some of the lessons of her painful 2008 loss and would not take anything for granted this time.
When she lost the Democratic nominating battle to Barack Obama, her campaign was heavily criticized for conveying a sense of arrogance and entitlement, and for being out of touch with the party's progressive wing.
This time, the video launching her campaign portrayed her as a warmer, more empathetic figure and laid the groundwork for a more populist economic agenda."
---Reuters, April 12, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Detroit Tigers Defeated the Cleveland Indians
April 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians---a game in which Detroit prevailed on the road, 8 to 5
Detroit 8, Cleveland 5
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, Declares his Candidacy for President of the United States
April 13, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, Monday, April 13, 2015
Associated Press: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, Announced Presidential Candidacy, April 13, 2015
"Sen. Marco Rubio entered the presidential race Monday by offering the nation a younger generation of leadership that breaks free of ideas 'stuck in the 20th century,' a jab at both Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton and his one-time Republican mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Standing in front of a banner that proclaimed 'A New American Century' and repeating that refrain throughout his kickoff speech, the 43-year-old Cuban-American used his first turn as a Republican presidential candidate to take on two of America's political dynasties. In doing so, he bet heavily on the electorate's frustrations with Washington and his ability to change how his party is seen by voters.
'This election is not just about what laws we are going to pass,' Rubio told his evening rally. 'It is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.'
He said it's also a choice between the haves and have-nots, nodding to his own upbringing by working-class parents. 'I live an exceptional country where the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.'
Earlier in the day, the first-term Republican from Florida spoke to his top donors and told them many families feel the American Dream is slipping away and young Americans face unequal opportunities. He's banking on the hope that he, alone among many GOP rivals, can make inroads with groups that have long eluded Republicans — young people, minorities and the less affluent."
---Associated Press, April 13, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Milwaukee Brewers Defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 5 to 4
April 13, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the visiting Milwaukee Brewers versus the home team St. Louis Cardinals, a game won by the Brewers, 5 to 4, Monday, April 13, 2015
Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 4
White House Announces President Obama will Remove Cuba from Terrorism List
April 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Map of Cuba; President Barack Obama
New York Times: White House Declares Obama to Remove Cuba from State Sponsors of Terrorism
"The White House announced on Tuesday that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the American government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism, eliminating a major obstacle to the restoration of diplomatic relations after decades of hostilities.
The decision to remove Cuba from the list represents a crucial step in Mr. Obama’s effort to turn the page on a Cold War-era dispute.
It came after a much-anticipated meeting between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas meeting in Panama over the weekend, the first such formal session between the leaders of the two countries in more than a half-century.
For more than 30 years, Cuba has been on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation shared only by Iran, Sudan and Syria."
---New York Times, April 14, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Cincinnati Reds Defeated the Chicago Cubs, 3 to 2
April 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Reds 3, Cubs 2
The 150th Anniversary of the Lincoln Assassination: President Abraham Lincoln Shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater
April 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: Illustration of John Wilkes Booth mortally wounding President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865
The 150th Anniversary of the Lincoln Assassination: President Abraham Lincoln Died from his Wounds
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Illustration of the scene when Abraham Lincoln died, April 15, 2015
ISIS Pushes Towards the Iraqi City of Ramadi
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: BBC map of Iraq with the city of Ramadi labeled; Wikipedia map of Iraq with Anbar Province shaded in dark orange
Associated Press: Villages Near Ramadi Fall to ISIS, April 15, 2015
"The Islamic State group launched an offensive in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, capturing three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi and forcing villagers to flee from their homes as fierce clashes were underway between the extremists and government troops, residents said.
The militants' push comes after the Islamic State was dealt a major blow earlier this month, when Iraqi troops routed the group from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. Wednesday's fighting could also further threaten Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. The city is mostly held by government forces but militants control some parts of it, mainly on the outskirts.
In a dawn advance, IS extremists seized the villages of Sjariyah, Albu-Ghanim and Soufiya, which had also been under government control till now, the residents said. Fighting was also taking place on the eastern edges of Ramadi, about two kilometers (mile) away from local government building, they added.
In Soufiya, the militants bombed a police station and took over a power plant. The residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for their own safety, said airstrikes were trying to back up Iraqi troops. Iraqi security officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Around noon Wednesday, the militants opened another front with the government troops on three other villages, to the northeast of Ramadi, the residents also said.
An Iraqi intelligence official said the militants were preparing to launch another offensive from the western side of the city, describing the situation as 'critical.'"
---Associated Press, April 15, 2015
Reuters: ISIS Makes Territorial Gains Near the Iraqi City of Ramadi, April 15, 2015
"Islamic State militants gained ground in western Iraq on Wednesday, overrunning another village near the capital of Anbar province in a dawn raid, police sources and local officials said.
Hundreds of families were fleeing Albu Ghanim after security forces came under attack from the militants overnight and withdrew from the area, around 5 km (3 miles) northeast of the provincial capital Ramadi.
The militants have been making inroads on Ramadi's northern periphery since the government announced the start of a new offensive last week to recapture the Sunni heartland of Anbar.
Large parts of the province had slipped from the government's grasp even before Islamic State seized the northern city of Mosul last June and proclaimed a caliphate straddling the border between Iraq and Syria.
Security forces and Shi'ite paramilitaries have since regained some ground in Iraq, although core Sunni territories remain under Islamic State control, including Nineveh province, of which Mosul is capital, and most of Anbar."
---Reuters, April 15, 2015
New England Patriots Football Player Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty of First Degree Murder
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: AP photo of former NFL football player Aaron Hernandez during the announcement of the the guilty verdict that convicted him of murder in the first degree, Wednesday, April 15, 2015; Copy of April 15, 2015 legal document obtained by AP showing the designation of a guilty verdict convicting then New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez of murdering Odin Lloyd
Above: AP graphic detailing the guilty verdicts for Aaron Hernandez, April 15, 2015
Associated Press: NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty of 1st Degree Murder, Sentenced to Life, April 15, 2015
"Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for a deadly late-night shooting, sealing the downfall of an athlete who once had a $40 million contract and a standout career ahead of him.
Hernandez, 25, who had been considered one of the top tight ends in professional football, shook his head, pursed his lips and sat down after the jury forewoman pronounced him guilty in the slaying of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscaper and amateur weekend football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee."
---Associated Press, April 15, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers Defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 to 0
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Detroit Free Press photos of the visiting Detroit Tigers versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, April 15, 2015; Cover of Time magazine in September 1947, an issue featuring Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Above: On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers took the field and desegregated Major League Baseball. He was number forty-two, a number that is now honored by the league on April 15th
Above: Major League Baseball action on April 15, 2015, a day in which players wore number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodger who broke the MLB color barrier on April 15, 1947
Detroit Tigers 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0 Minnesota Twins 3, Kansas City Royals 1
The Battle for Ramadi: Civilians Flee the Embattled City
April 16, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Iraqi Security Forces and Anti-ISIS Tribal troops in Ramadi, Thursday, April 16, 2015; BBC map of Iraq with the city of Ramadi labeled
Above: BBC map identifying ISIS presence in Syria and Iraq, April 2015
Associated Press: Locals Flee as ISIS Threatens Ramadi, April 16, 2015
"More than 2,000 families have fled from the Iraqi city of Ramadi, an official said Thursday, as the Islamic State group advanced on the provincial capital of the western Anbar province, clashing with Iraqi troops.
The extremist group, which has controlled the nearby city of Fallujah for more than a year, captured three villages on Ramadi's eastern outskirts on Wednesday. The advance is widely seen as a counteroffensive after the IS group lost the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, earlier this month.
Hundreds of U.S. troops are training Iraqi forces at a military base west of Ramadi, but a U.S. military official said the fighting had no impact on the U.S. soldiers there, and that there were no plans to withdraw them.
Sattar Nowruz, from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, said those fleeing Ramadi have settled in southern and western Baghdad suburbs.
Tents, food and other aid are being sent to them, he said. The ministry is also assessing the situation with the provincial government in order 'to provide the displaced people, who are undergoing difficult conditions, with better services and help,' Nowruz said.
Sporadic clashes were still underway Thursday, according to security officials in Ramadi. Government forces control the city center, while the IS group has had a presence in the suburbs and outskirts for months. They described Ramadi as a ghost town, with empty streets and closed shops."
---Associated Press, April 16, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: The Minnesota Twins Defeated the Kansas City Royals, 8 to 5
April 16, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the home team Minnesota Twins versus the visiting Kansas City Royals, Thursday, April 16, 2015
Twins 8 , Royals 5
The War Against ISIS: Refugees Scramble out of Ramadi, and Bombings Rock Baghdad and Erbil
April 17, 2015 (Friday)
Above: BBC map of Iraq with the cities of Ramadi and Baghdad labeled; Wikipedia map of Iraq with al-Anbar Province highlighted in dark orange
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New York Times: The Scramble out of Ramadi, Iraq, April 17, 2015
"In an intensifying humanitarian crisis in Iraq’s embattled Anbar Province, thousands of residents are fleeing a pitched battle between Islamic State militants and pro-government forces around the provincial capital.
Checkpoints on the main approach to Baghdad from western Anbar Province are choked with cars, as the Iraqi authorities refuse entry to people who do not have a resident of Baghdad to vouch for them and provide them shelter. In normal times, a drive between the provincial capital, Ramadi, and Baghdad takes little more than an hour. Those lucky enough to reach the Baghdad on Friday said they had been traveling for two days.
On the edge of Baghdad on Friday, just past a government checkpoint, Saad al-Thiabi, a police officer in Ramadi who has been battling Islamic State insurgents there for more than a year, was dropping off his family. He said he would return to the fight after catching a night’s sleep, and doubted that he would ever see his family again."
---New York Times, April 17, 2015
Associated Press: Bombings in Baghdad Kill Dozens, April 17, 2015
"A series of bombings ripped through Baghdad on Friday, mainly targeting public places and killing at least 40 people, Iraqi officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but violence has escalated both in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq in the wake of Islamic State group's capture of large swaths of territory in the country's west and north during a blitz last year. The Islamic State has taken credit for similar attacks in the past, especially those targeting Shiites, as well as Iraqi security forces and government buildings.
The deadliest of Friday's attacks came when a car bomb went off inside a car dealership in the Shiite neighborhood of Habibya in eastern Baghdad, killed 15 people and wounded 26 others, police said. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from the area as at least 11 cars were burnt. Security forces sealed off the place."
---Associated Press, April 17, 2015
Reuters: Deadly Car Bomb Near U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq, April 17, 2015
"A car bomb killed three people on Friday outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, a ally of Washington in the war against Islamic State, which claimed the attack."
---Associated Press, April 17, 2015
Associated Press: Iraqi Government Claims that Key Insurgent is Dead, April 17, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers 2, Chicago White Sox 1
April 17, 2015 (Friday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action of the Detroit Tigers hosting the Chicago White Sox, Friday, April 17, 2015
Detroit Tigers 2, Chicago White Sox 1
The Dow Declined 1.54%
April 17, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the DJIA declining 279 points, closing at 17,826 on April 17, 2015
Bombing in Jalalabad, Afghanistan Claimed by ISIS
April 18, 2015 (Saturday)
Above: AP photos of the aftermath of the bombing site in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 18, 2015
Associated Press: Bombing in Jalalabad, Afghanistan Claimed by ISIS
"A motorcycle-riding suicide bomber attacked a bank branch Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 35 people in a deadly attack the country's president said was claimed by the Islamic State group.
The attack marks a major escalation in the country's fight against an affiliate of the extremist group that now holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate. It also comes as Afghan security forces fight against the Taliban after U.S. and NATO forces ended their combat mission in the country at the start of the year, yet another challenge for the war-ravaged nation.
The attack in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, targeted a crowd of soldiers and civilians gathered outside the bank to receive their monthly salaries. The blast killed at least 35 people and wounded 125, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Hours after the attack, President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Islamic State group for the bombing."
---Associated Press, April 18, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Toronto Blue Jays 6, Atlanta Braves 5
April 18, 2015 (Saturday)
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Toronto 6, Atlanta 5
ISIS Video Released Showing Execution of Ethiopian Christians
April 19, 2015 (Sunday)
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Associated Press: Purported ISIS Video Released Purporting to Show Execution of Ethiopian Christians
"Islamic State militants in Libya shot and beheaded groups of captive Ethiopian Christians, a video purportedly from the extremists showed Sunday. The attack widens the circle of nations affected by the group's atrocities while showing its growth beyond a self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
The release of the 29-minute video comes a day after Afghanistan's president blamed the extremists for a suicide attack in his country that killed at least 35 people — and underscores the chaos gripping Libya after its 2011 civil war and the killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
It also mirrored a film released in February showing militants beheading 21 captured Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach, which immediately drew Egyptian airstrikes on the group's suspected positions in Libya. Whether Ethiopia would — or could — respond with similar military force remains unclear."
---Associated Press, April 19, 2015
Associated Press: Key Events in the Rise of ISIS
Tragedy at Sea: Hundreds of Migrants Feared Dead as Boat from Libya Capsizes in the Mediterranean
April 19, 2015 (Sunday)
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Reuters: Hundreds of Migrants Feared Dead as Boat from Libya Capsizes in Mediterranean
"As many as 700 migrants were feared dead on Sunday after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, raising pressure on Europe to face down anti-immigrant bias and find money for support as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East worsens the crisis.
If the death toll is confirmed, it will bring to 1,500 the total number of people who died this year seeking to reach Europe - a swelling exodus that prompted Europe to downsize its seek and rescue border protection program in a bid to deter them. International aid groups strongly criticized the decision.
After news of Sunday's disaster several government leaders called for emergency talks and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said foreign ministers would discuss the immigration crisis at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. European Council President Donald Tusk said he was considering calling a special meeting of EU leaders, a summit that Renzi had called for earlier.
Meanwhile Italian and foreign ships and helicopters worked into the night to find possible survivors. So far 28 people have been rescued and 24 bodies recovered, Italian authorities said."
---Reuters, April 19, 2015
Associated Press: Hundreds Aboard Boat that Capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, North of Libya
"A smuggler's boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya's coast as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean's deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action."
---Associated Press, April 20, 2015
The 20th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Domestic Terrorist Bombing
April 19, 2015 (Sunday)
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Associated Press: Images from the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
CNN: The Oklahoma City Bombing, 20 Years Later
"Twenty years ago, on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a massive truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The attack killed 168 men, women and children, injured hundreds more, and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history."
---CNN, April 19, 1995
The Nation: Twentieth Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing
"When a set of right-wing evildoers destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on this day twenty years ago, The Nation pointed out that if the conspiracy was fairly small, those who might rightly be considered Timothy McVeigh’s fellow travelers were legion—and walked the halls of Congress, no less apologetically, as one can't help but notice, now than then."
---The Nation, April 19, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers 9, Chicago White Sox 1
April 19, 2015 (Sunday)
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Detroit Tigers 9, Chicago White Sox 1
The Dow Gained 208 Points, Closing Over 18,000
April 20, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 18,034 on April 20, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit Tigers 2, New York Yankees 1
April 20, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photos of Major League Baseball action between the Detroit Tigers and the visiting New York Yankees, a game won by Detroit, 2 to 1 on Monday, April 20, 2015
Detroit Tigers 2, New York Yankees 1
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Boston Red Sox 1, Tampa Bay Rays 0
April 21, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photos of Major League Baseball action between the Boston Red Sox at the Tampa Bay Rays, Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Boston 1, Tampa Bay 0
The Dow Closed at 18,038
April 22, 2015 (Wednesday)
Above: Reuters chart showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 18,038 on April 22, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: New York Mets 3, Atlanta Braves 2
April 22, 2015 (Wednesday)
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New York Mets 3, Atlanta Braves 2 Cincinnati Reds 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1
The United States Senate Confirms Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General
April 23, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Loretta Lynch; AP photo of Loretta Lynch testifying on Capitol Hill on January 28, 2015
Associated Press: U.S. Senate Confirms Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General, April 23, 2015
"Loretta Lynch won confirmation as the nation's first black female attorney general Thursday from a Senate that forced her to wait more than five months for the title and remained divided to the end.
The 56-43 vote installs Lynch, now U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, at the Justice Department to replace Eric Holder. Holder has served in the job throughout the Obama administration, becoming a lightning rod for conservatives who perceived him as overly political and liberal, and even getting held in contempt of Congress.
Lynch, 55, is seen as a no-nonsense prosecutor, and has wide law enforcement support. The issue that tore into her support with Republicans was immigration, and her refusal to denounce President Barack Obama's executive actions limiting deportations for millions of people living illegally in this country. Questioned on the issue at her confirmation hearing in January, she said she believed Obama's actions were reasonable and lawful.
Democrats angrily criticized Republicans for using the issue against her, saying an executive branch nominee could not be expected to disagree strongly with the president who appointed her, but Republicans were unapologetic."
---Associated Press, April 23, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Royals 3, White Sox 2
April 23, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a fight during a Major League Baseball game in Chicago involving players from the visiting Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, April 23, 2015
Kansas City Royals 3, Chicago White Sox 2
The Apple Watch is Released
April 24, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Image of the Apple Watch
Reuters: Low-Intensity Launch to the Apple Watch, April 24, 2015
"The Apple Watch launched quietly around the world on Friday without the usual frenzy or fanfare for an Apple Inc rollout, as a handful of boutiques in major cities like Tokyo and Paris sold the timepiece - but not for purchase at its own stores.
Shops included The Corner in Berlin, Colette in Paris, Maxfield in Los Angeles and Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London. Apple courted the outlets to promote the watch as a fashion item rather than just another techie gizmo.
The watch has been on display in Apple stores since April 10, when it became available for preorder. Customers began receiving the smartwatch on Friday, though there were delays to June or later as Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's first product has drawn more demand than expected.
Paired with an iPhone, the watch allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls. It also tracks a person's health, for instance by monitoring heartbeats or tracking calories burned during a workout."
---Reuters, April 24, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Boston Red Sox 7, Baltimore Orioles 5
April 24, 2015 (Friday)
Above: AP photo of Boston Red Sox batter David Ortiz crossing home plate after hitting a home run versus home team Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 24, 2015
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Boston Red Sox 7, Baltimore Orioles 5
Milestone Interview on ABC: 1976 Olympics Men's Decathlon Champion Bruce Jenner Self-Identifies as a Woman
April 24, 2015 (Friday)
Above: Bruce Jenner, upon winning the gold medal in the Men's Decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada; ABC photo posted on Twitter promoting Diane Sawyer's interview of Bruce Jenner, a primetime television event broadcast on April 24, 2015
Associated Press: In a Milestone Interview on ABC, Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner Self-Identifies as Transgender
"Former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner told the world that 'for all intents and purposes, I am a woman' in an extraordinary television interview aired Friday about gender confusion he first felt as a youngster trying on his mother's and sister's dresses.
The 1976 decathlon champion, known better to a new generation as the patriarch of television's omnipresent Kardashian clan, took out his ponytail to let his long hair flow past his shoulders.
'I'm not this bad person,' said Jenner, who hoped the two-hour interview could help others struggling with gender identity issues. 'I'm just doing what I have to do.'
The E! Entertainment network announced that Jenner would be part of a documentary series about the transition that would begin on July 26."
---Associated Press, April 25, 2015
New York Times: Via ABC Interview Broadcast on April 24, 2015, Bruce Jenner Self-Identifies as a Woman
"Bruce Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist and member of the Kardashian family, ended months of speculation Friday night when he announced during an ABC television special that he identified as a woman and was making the transition from male to female."
---New York Times, April 24, 2015
Protest in Baltimore in the Wake of the Death of Freddie Gray
April 25, 2015 (Saturday)
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Reuters: Protest in Baltimore, April 25, 2015
"At least 2,000 people protesting the unexplained death of a black man while in police custody marched through downtown Baltimore on Saturday, pausing at one point to confront officers in front of Camden Yards, home of the Orioles baseball team.
In the biggest protest since 25-year-old Freddie Gray died on Sunday, two clusters of marchers chanting 'shut it down' started out at different times before merging during the afternoon into a single wave headed toward City Hall.
Gray is the latest in a series of black men around the country who died under questionable circumstances during police encounters. Their deaths have triggered an outcry in the United States over what many see as law enforcement's unjustified use of force against African-Americans.
Last year, there were weeks of protests across the country following the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Eric Garner, in New York City who was placed in a chokehold during an attempted arrest.
Saturday's protests came a day after Baltimore's police commissioner conceded that police had failed to provide Gray with timely medical attention for a spinal injury he had suffered sometime after he was apprehended and put inside a transport van. Police have not explained how he sustained the injury. He died a week after his arrest on April 12."
---Reuters, April 25, 2015
Associated Press: Freddie Gray Protests Intensify in Baltimore, April 25, 2015
"Thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday in the largest Freddie Gray rally yet, and after hours of peaceful demonstrations, pockets of protesters smashed out police car windows and storefronts.
At least two people were hurt in the mayhem and three people were detained. The problems happened near Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles game against the Boston Red Sox went on as scheduled. At one point, demonstrators fought with fans at a bar before the game.
Protesters threw cans and plastic bottles in the direction of police officers. One protester broke out the window of a police cruiser, grabbed a police hat inside and wore it while standing on top of the cruiser with several other protesters.
At that point, scores of officer rushed into the area, stopped and formed a line, three officers deep. The protesters scattered but returned a few minutes later and began yelling 'What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!'
From inside the stadium, fans watched the protesters gather.
Before the protest turned tense, demonstrators filled two city blocks and marched 2 miles to City Hall, where the crowd overtook the grassy plaza adjacent from the building."
---Associated Press, April 25, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Baltimore 5, Boston 4
April 25, 2015 (Saturday)
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Baltimore 5, Boston 4
Mets 8, Yankees 2 Detroit 4, Cleveland 1
The White House Correspondents Dinner
April 25, 2015 (Saturday)
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Associated Press: Quotations from the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner
Reuters: Coverage of the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner
"At the gathering he jokingly called 'a night when Washington celebrates itself,' U.S. President Barack Obama took light-hearted aim on Saturday at a range of political friends and foes, including the people running to succeed him."
---Reuters, April 26, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Detroit 8, Cleveland 6
April 26, 2015 (Sunday)
Above: AP photo of a Detroit Tigers pitcher versus the Cleveland Indians in Detroit, Sunday, April 26, 2015
Detroit Tigers 8, Cleveland Indians 6 Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City Royals 3 Houston Astros 7, Oakland A's 6
Pittsburgh 8, Arizona 0
Loretta Lynch Sworn In as Attorney General of the United States
April 27, 2015 (Monday)
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Associated Press: Loretta Lynch Becomes U.S. Attorney General, April 27, 2015
"Loretta Lynch was sworn in Monday as the 83rd U.S. attorney general, the first African-American woman to serve as the nation's top law enforcement official."
---Associated Press, April 27, 2015
Anti-Police Race Riots in Baltimore on the Day of the Freddie Gray Funeral
April 27, 2014 (Monday)
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Associated Press: Coverage of the Freddie Gray Riots in Baltimore, Maryland, April 27, 2015
"Rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos Monday, torching a pharmacy, setting police cars ablaze and throwing bricks at officers hours after thousands mourned the man who died from a severe spinal injury he suffered in police custody.
The governor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to restore order, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in her first day on the job, said she would send Justice Department officials to the city in coming days. A weeklong, daily curfew was imposed beginning Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the mayor said. At least 15 officers were hurt, and some two dozen people were arrested. Two officers remained hospitalized, police said."
---Associated Press, April 27, 2015
New York Times: Coverage of the Baltimore Riots, April 27, 2015
Salon.com: Patronizing the Protesters Washington Post Columnist: The Beating of a Black Youth
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2015 Major League Baseball Season: Cancellation of Chicago White Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles Due to Riots in Baltimore, Maryland
April 27, 2015 (Monday)
Above: Baltimore Sun photo of a sign at Camden Yards (Home of the Baltimore Orioles) announcing the postponement of the Major League Baseball game between the Orioles and the visiting Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 27, 2015
The Nation's Dave Zirin: The Baltimore Riots and Camden Yards
"Camden Yards has for twenty-five years been at the heart of what has been held up as the recipe not only for what’s been described as Baltimore’s urban 'renewal' but as a template for every city like Baltimore that once was the site of real industry with a decent tax base and union labor. That’s why we have seen similar ballparks, big on charm and big on public subsidies, get built over the last generation—to name a just a sampling—in Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago’s South Side, and Pittsburgh. All of these cities were at one time synonymous with industry and multiracial labor power. Now they have boarded up factories—or factories that have been transformed into postmodern coffee shops or bars—and baseball stadiums. These stadiums were all built with promises not only of economically competitive teams but of jobs that would replace the industrial labor of the past. If we didn’t know it before, the scene at Camden Yards should carve it permanently into the tablets of history. This sports-centric urban planning has been a failure built on a foundation of lies—exercises in corporate welfare and false political promises we were, lacking a credible public policy alternative, willing to swallow. What the stadiums have become instead are strategic hamlets of gentrification and displacement. They have morphed into cathedrals to economic and racial apartheid, dividing cities between haves and have-nots, between those who go to the game to watch and those who go to the game looking for low-income work."
---Dave Zirin, The Nation, April 28, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Cincinnati Reds 9, Milwaukee Brewers 6
April 27, 2015 (Monday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the Milwaukee Brewers at the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, April 27, 2015
Cincinnati Reds 9, Milwaukee Brewers 6
President Obama Offers Remarks on the Baltimore Riots
April 28, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of President Barack Obama speaking during a news conference at the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Associated Press: President Obama's Remarks Regarding the Baltimore Riots, April 28, 2015
"Urging Americans to 'do some soul-searching,' President Barack Obama expressed deep frustration Tuesday over recurring black deaths at the hands of police, rioters responding with senseless violence and a society that will only 'feign concern' without addressing the root causes."
---Associated Press, April 28, 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Miami Marlins 4, New York Mets 3
April 28, 2015 (Tuesday)
Above: AP photo of Major League Baseball action between the New York Mets at the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Miami Marlins 4, New York Mets 3 Reds 4, Brewers 2
Tepid GDP Growth for the U.S. Economy for the First Quarter of 2015
April 29, 2015 (Wednesday)
Washington Post: Tepid GDP Growth of the U.S. Economy in the 1st Quarter of 2015
"The U.S. economy ground nearly to a halt in the first three months of the year, according to government data released Wednesday morning, as exports plunged and severe winter weather helped keep consumers indoors."
---Washington Post, April 29, 2015
Reuters: The U.S. Economy Barely Grew in the First Quarter of 2015
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Baltimore Orioles 8, Chicago White Sox 2
April 29, 2015 (Wednesday)
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Associated Press: Coverage of the Sans-Fans Major League Baseball Game Between the White Sox and the Orioles, April 29, 2015
Baltimore Orioles 8, Chicago White Sox 2
40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the End of the Vietnam War
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Mobile Register coverage of the fall and surrender of South Vietnam, April 30, 1975 issue
Above: Mobile Press coverage of the fall and surrender of South Vietnam, May 1, 1975 issue
70th Anniversary of the Death of Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: Time cover, May 7, 1945 issue
2015 Major League Baseball Season: Houston Astros 3, Seattle Mariners 2
April 30, 2015 (Thursday)
Above: AP photo of a Houston Astros batter versus the Seattle Mariners in Houston, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2015; AP photo of a Houston Astros pitcher in a Major League Baseball game versus the Seattle Mariners in Houston, Texas, Thursday, April 30, 2015
Houston Astros 3, Seattle Mariners 2
May 2015